Kyubi's Kit
by Excele Kurokami
Summary: During the Wave mission, the truth is revealed to Naruto as the seal breaks. Naruko/Ino/Sakura
1. Chapter 1

Title: Kyūbi's Kit

Genre: Romance, Adventure

Rating: M for suggestive themes, swearing, violence and lesbian action! (Jiraiya gives his approval!)

Pairing: Naruko/Ino/Sakura

Tags: Kakashi with reversed favouritism, lesbian threesome, biased council, idiot civilians

Summary: During the Wave mission, the truth is revealed to Naruto as the seal breaks. Naruko/Ino/Sakura

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! I do own the first Naruko/Ino/Sakura romance fic! Yays!**

Chapter 1: Awakening from a long dream

Naruto woke up to the sight of Sasuke standing before him, protecting him from the numerous senbon that were now lodged in his body and neck. As Naruto rose, the Uchiha fell. Naruto met the heir halfway and caught him.

"What happened?" Naruto yelled.

"I don't know...My body just moved on its own..." the Uchiha gasped through the pain, "I hated you..." Naruto remained silent as he realized Sasuke had taken a fatal blow for him. "Don't lose to him Naruto...I always thought that it would be Itachi that k..." Sasuke stopped mid word. His face relaxed, as did his body, which already started to become cooler.

"Right until the end," the masked ninja said from his mirrors, "he protected you right till the end. He was a true ninja."

"**_Shut up!"_** Naruto growled as he stood up over his friend's body. Blue chakra whipped around him furiously for a moment before it was taken over by blazing blood red chakra and turned into a wild pyre of chakra. Haku's demonic mirrors shook and screamed in protest of the chakra the boy was releasing. The ground was ripped apart. For the briefest of moments, it seemed Naruto's form warped but it stopped a moment later. Haku was about to leave his mirror to attack Naruto when nine spears of the evil red chakra lanced out at the mirrors.

No, they weren't spears of chakra.

They were chakra tails.

Kakashi, Zabuza and Sakura felt Sasuke's chakra fade. The next chakra change was felt by everyone, even Tazuna, as an incredible spike of violent, evil chakra surged from the same spot Naruto's chakra had been a moment before.

_'Did Sensei's seal break? Did Kyūbi free itself from Naruto?'_ Kakashi thought before the chakra rose to even higher levels and the area seemed to detonate. Zabuza's mist was blown away, pieces of chakra filled ice flying from the blast zone; the place the masked ninja had attacked the boys. Everyone looked back to the sight of what used to be a dome of ice mirrors.

One lone, cracked mirror stood until Haku stepped out, then it fell over and shattered. He looked at the boy he had been fighting and his eyes widened beneath his mask.

Naruto was indeed standing there still, but his once blonde hair had turned rust red color and hung down below his waist. His short form was replaced by a taller, more slender body. His hands were thinner and more delicate, as was his neck, shoulders, arms and...everything. His nails were long and sharp. When they saw his face, they realized their mistake. _Her_ eyes were a beautiful shade of deep purple and the whiskers were gone.

"What-" Haku gasped. Suddenly, Naruto vanished in a blur, only to reappear as he slammed his fist into Haku's face hard enough to send the boy flying backwards. The mask was destroyed and his arm were broken when Haku bounced off the ground and came to a stop. He was injured badly and was still alive, but he wouldn't be moving properly for a while.

Kakashi's eyes widened at that display. _'That was Sensei's Hiraishin no Jutsu! Without the kunai or a seal...How?'_ Even Zabuza was stunned into staying still.

After seeing who it was behind the mask, Naruto growled and turned to Zabuza. He stomped over to the man as dreadful KI flared repeatedly at the swordsman like a hurricane on a small town. "He fights for you. He would kill for you. He would DIE for you," Naruto said as he drew closer, "and you treat him that way!"

Zabuza glared at the transformed genin, wondering why he felt like cowering in fear. "Ninja's are weapons to be used by the Kage, the Daimyo, their superiors and anyone who can pay the price for them. We are living tools that are thrown away after we are no longer useful," Zabuza stated as he pushed down the annoying fear within him. _'He...SHE is just a genin,'_ he reasoned to himself.

When Zabuza completed that thought, Naruto hiraishined and headbutted Zabuza in his stomach hard enough to make the missing-nin stagger off balance. Before he could recover, a pair of kunai were slammed in both his arms, disabling them. He looked at Kakashi, the one who had done this to him. "Sharingan Kakashi...You will-"

"I guess it's finally time."

Everyone present looked to see Gato had arrived and he wasn't alone. About a hundred people, all thugs or bandits of some sort, were standing behind the crime lord.

"Gato? Our deal was that I killed the targets," Zabuza said as he felt the stab of suspicion enter his heart. Something didn't feel right...

"That deal was rubbish right from the start. I normally hire missing-nin like you and the brat so you can weaken yourselves and the enemy ninja, then I wipe you all out with superior numbers," Gato explained, "I call it getting skilled labour for free."

"Kakashi. It seems I no longer have any reason to continue fighting you," Zabuza said as he made his way over to Haku. Naruto appeared between them, her purple eyes flashing with anger. "Out of the way," Zabuza ordered.

"No," Naruto growled. "You are everything to him and you were about to toss him aside because he was beaten once. ONCE! You have no right to go near him again. You are everything to him. Only your opinion matters to him. Without you, he is nothing!"

"Na...ruto..." Haku managed through the pain.

"No! I am telling this guy that he is no better than that bastard Gato!" Naruto roared.

"Kid..." Zabuza mumbled.

"Shut the fuck up! I'm not through with you!" Naruto yelled.

"Kid!" Zabuza snapped. Naruto stopped and looked at the assassin's face, tear streaks staining his face wrappings. "You said enough..."

"What's this? The legendary Demon of the Mist is finding a new way to use water?" Gato mocked, "more like a baby devil if you ask me..."

"Naruto," Zabuza called as he tore apart his face wrappings with his teeth, "give me a kunai." Naruto didn't say anything as she threw a kunai to Zabuza, who caught it in his mouth and proceeded to carve a path through Gato's men with the short blade. Despite getting fatally wounded by countless weapons, he managed to reach Gato and cleaved the man's head off after he promised to torture the greedy man in Hell as a real devil before falling himself.

"Gato-san's dead!"

"Where are we going to get our pay now?"

"Maybe we could take it out of the village...in instalments."

The ninja looked over at the thugs Gato had assembled as they started talking about how much they could get out of the village. Kakashi clenched his wounded hand shut and wished he had a small platoon of ninja to wipe this filth out. Sakura shivered and stumbled back as a bandit looked at her with a lecherous smirk. One of the others mentioned 'breaking' the girls in. Tazuna was tempted to take Sakura's kunai and castrate a few of the men and then kill them.

"**_You touch Sakura-chan and I'll bite your throats out!"_** Naruto growled.

The men turned to the girl with almost blood red hair and laughed at her. "A fiery one!" a dirty bandit yelled. "They really go when broken! We can have a field day with her before then!" another cheered.

Naruto's eyes peered out from behind his bangs, pupils reducing to slits as he glared at the men. **_"I'll show you fire!"_** he roared. He took a deep breath and the ninja could feel the chakra rotating within his lungs. _'Is he going to use a katon?'_ Kakashi thought. Naruto fell onto all fours, opening his mouth to release a high pressure stream of fire at the bandits, whose screams lasted but a single moment before them and their ashes were incinerated almost simultaneously. The bridge was also heavily burned and damaged from the fire attack.

Sakura had managed to tear her gaze away from the sudden display of skill and power her supposedly weak teammate had shown and ran to see if Sasuke was alright. Kakashi was so stunned at the extremely high level fire jutsu that he didn't notice the voice until the second time. "Kakashi..."

The former ANBU looked down at Zabuza. "Can I see Haku?" the assassin asked. The young ice user came over as quickly as he could with his broken arm. The Konoha ninja were there as well since nobody, other than Gato and a few choice missing-nin, deserved to die alone.

"Zabuza-san..." Haku gasped as he saw the wounds on his mentor.

"Kid, I'm not going to make it... I just wanted you to know something before I died," Zabuza said.

"I'm sorry I wasn't a useful enough weapon to protect you," Haku whined.

"Don't say that again. You were not and never will be useless," Zabuza took a deep breath, "I was wrong with how I treated you. I always knew in the back of my mind that you were more than my student, more than a friend to me... You were like the brother I never had." He smiled at a memory of Haku creating a snowflake with his ice jutsu and giving it to him, calling it a special shuriken. "I'm going to go to Hell."

"No you aren't! Someone like you won't go where you don't want to go!" Haku protested.

"I do want to go to Hell, but not for what I have done, but to punish the ones who treated you and your clan the way they did. I am going to make sure that they know who my little brother is," the reformed assassin said as he lifted his almost useless arm. Haku took his hand and held it.

"Naruto...Take my sword with you," Zabuza ordered.

"WHAT?" Naruto shrieked, proving that he was still the #1 loudest ninja, possibly even louder than before with the apparent gender change, "I can't even pick the thing up!"

"I don't really care if you use it as a post to grow a bean stalk, I just don't want some dumbass getting it. Take it and mount it on your wall or something," Zabuza said with a smirk.

"Fine?" Naruto went over to the sword and, surprisingly to even himself, picked it up with both his hands. "What the hell? Is this thing hollow?"

Zabuza chuckled at Naruto's confusion. "Take care of that brat Haku. She has insane jutsu and chakra levels, but absolutely nothing in the way of skill. She's a real ninja, just like you." Haku nodded and everyone stayed silent as Zabuza spent his last moments looking at his adopted brother. The citizens of the village showed up and most were shocked that everything was calm. Even more shocking was Naruto's new appearance. Sakura suddenly shrieked since it turned out Sasuke was only put into a very temporary death.

Kakashi looked at Naruto and eye smiled. "At least it seems your pants still fit."

Naruto scratched at the back of his head, not noticing he was now in female form. He got a nice dose of reality when his pants fell down, no longer finding proper support on his now slender hips. His jacket and boxers (thank Kami for elastics!) covered everything important, but didn't guard against a light breeze as he squealed and put his hands down to help block against the wind. The sight of this caused a number of men to sport nosebleeds and/or blushes, which resulted in them sleeping on the couch for a while. Kakashi was happy for his mask since it hid the light blush he had. The spectacle reminded him of a scene from Icha Icha Paradise: Volume 3. Chapter seven, page forty three. Ion-chan was so naughty for that scene...

It had taken a week for Sasuke's body to heal enough for him to hobble around quickly enough for them to leave, which was convenient since it took that long for the village to get the bridge finished with a very heavily reinforced workforce. It also took that long for Naruto a few days to get over being a girl. He had tried several times to cancel the Oiroke, but it seemed it wasn't that perverted jutsu. Kakashi figured it was the fox's doing. He smiled behind his mask at the memory of when Naruto had first gone to the bathroom. Tsunami and Sakura rushing in to help the poor redhead out, who kept screaming about 'it' being gone.

"Naruto-nee!" Inari shouted as tears threatened to flow down his face like mini waterfalls. He had adjusted quickly to Naruto being a girl.

Naruto's face was an almost exact copy. "You can cry if you want to Inari."

Inari smiled. "You can too. It's okay for girls to cry."

Naruto turned around quickly, her hair looking like a quick flit of dull flame for a moment. "See ya later." Instead of being cool, Naruto was bawling the same way Inari was.

_'Are they twins?'_ Sakura thought, then rushed over to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, maybe I can help take care of you while you get better?"

"Why don't you try something wondrously new for you instead, like training!" the ever arrogant Uchiha suggested before putting a bit of distance between himself and his fan girl. Naruto, now with a tighter belt, popped up next to her. "Ignore him. Let's go and have ramen when we get back." He gave Sakura his trademark smile, female version.

She rounded on Naruto in a flash. "Not now, not ever!" WHACK! Naruto staggered back till he fell over from the shot to his nose, which released a steady stream of blood. Kakashi, recognizing a broken nose when he saw it, went to go fix it when the bleeding suddenly slowed. He confirmed that it had already healed.

Sakura stopped and realized she had gone too far, but the slitted pupils of Naruto caused her to flinch as the rust haired genin scampered away from his teammates and hid behind their sensei. The look in Naruto's eyes was one that sent a chill down Sakura's spine. It was the same look that the now female genin had given a few people in the past, people like Gato. His eyes were flat and the color had paled, they were filled with anger. The worst thing is that those eyes were locked on Sakura and Sasuke.

"What did you do that for?" Kakashi asked, anger evident in his voice. The strikes to the back of Naruto's head had been acceptable since very little damage could have resulted from those light punches, but the punch to the nose could have killed the recently changed genin at the right angles, especially with Sakura's strength. Being one of Naruto's ANBU guardians in the past had put some protective instinct in him when it came to the former blond.

"I-I-I'm sorry. He just..." Sakura trailed off when she realized she had no excuse for her recent assault on Naruto. She just hung her head and walked ahead of her sensei and teammate as they made the journey back. It was mostly quiet, just the jōnin and rust haired genin chatting about her perverted jutsu, which she could still use. The glare from Haku was one that Sakura could do without.

Back in Konoha, the boys seemed to vanish within moments of passing through the gates. Sakura had searched for her teammates, to check up on Sasuke and try to repair the damage to the friendship between her and Naruto. Since both were missing, she went home.

"Hello honey," Haruno Kaori, Sakura's mother called from the kitchen. She popped out and smiled at her daughter. "How are things with the Uchiha?"

Sakura sighed as she flopped onto the couch. "He got hurt on our last mission and is even worse than before."

Kaori sighed as well. "If only boys would grow up as fast as girls... Maybe then you could get his attention faster."

Sakura thought for a few moments and then decided to say it. "I broke Naruto's nose after the mission..." She wasn't proud of it, but she wanted to hear her mother's opinion on the matter. She knew her father would have secretly scolded her for her actions towards Naruto, but he was on a year long business trip and wouldn't be back for almost eight months.

"Really?" the woman asked. Sakura nodded. "Not the best idea, but maybe it will wake him up from his fantasy a little quicker," the older woman said. "Letting him become a ninja was not the best idea. I don't know why the Hokage allowed him to become a ninja. He is rude, untalented, loud and disliked by everyone for some reason. I guess the Hokage is just humouring the boy."

Sakura shivered while remembering how some adults had told her Naruto was a no good kid that wouldn't amount to anything. Worst of all, Sakura had believed it all. _'It isn't true though. If it weren't for Naruto, all of us, Kakashi-sensei, me, Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san, Inari-kun, the villagers and...Sasuke-kun would all be dead.'_

Kaori frowned to herself. _'It doesn't take a genius to guess who his father was. I mean really, just draw six lines on the Yondaime's picture and that is Naruto in the future. What was the Hokage thinking? If Iwa catches wind of Naruto, they'll attack us again to kill him. The boy should be protected or given special training to defend himself, not what those 'teachers' taught him at the academy. I wish I knew why everyone hated him. Could it be that they still fear Iwa?'_

_[Unknown area]_

Sasuke couldn't believe the garbage that the man had just tried to feed him. Naruto had defeated the masked boy Haku, helped stop Zabuza, then burned a small army of bandits and raiders down with a single katon.

"You're wrong," Sasuke insisted.

"I am sorry, but it is true Sasuke-kun," the one eyed councillor, Shimura Danzō stated, "my own spies witnessed the feat. It also appears that his gender has temporarily flipped."

"His gender flipped?" Sasuke asked.

"We aren't sure about how, but he had assumed a female form with rust colored hair before doing this," Danzo was cheering in his mind, knowing Sasuke would force himself towards Sharingan faster to surpass the Kyūbi. _'Hiruzen actually helped me by keeping it alive all these years and allowing it to become a ninja. I can already feel two new Sharingan being implanted in my arm. Of course, Sasuke-kun will have to kill the demon first, then die from the wounds he received from the demon child.'_

Sasuke remembered seeing Naruto as a girl, but assumed the fool had been trying to see how long his insane chakra reserves could hold his idiotic jutsu. He remembered how Kakashi and an ANBU had taken Naruto off to the Hokage's Tower right after returning to Konoha. Why go so far for a dobe?

_[Hokage's Tower]_

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked as he sat in a chair facing the Hokage. In the next chair was Kakashi and his one visible eye was opened to the limit and his face was almost as pale as his hair.

Hiruzen sighed and lit up his pipe. "You are not really Uzumaki Naruto. He was still born on that night thirteen years ago. You were adopted into the Uzumaki clan and raised as him to protect you from various dangers."

The now nameless kunoichi shot up, her purple eyes wide with confusion and anger. "Who the hell am I then?"

Hiruzen looked at the safeties in the room, making sure all were properly in place and functioning. "This is the greatest secret in Konoha, the only one to be listed as an SSS-Class secret."

"SSS-Class?" Kakashi asked. He had never heard of such a thing.

"S-Class secrets are known by council members, Hokage, some civilians and ninja. They are punishable by visiting Ibiki for a few hours and the desire to not want to speak of the secret again. SS-Class secrets are known to the Hokage, council members and select ninja, unless the people were involved in the original incident. It is punishable by death to speak openly of the secret. A SSS-Class secret is known only by me and anyone who I believe needs to know of it. If another person knew of it and spoke, they would die after spending a very, very long time in a very small cell with sound proofing, chakra seals etched all over their bodies, a silencing seal on their throat, no light and horrible food," Hiruzen explained.

Kakashi gulped, noting that a quick death was preferable to the slow, silent rot that had just been described. "What is the secret?"

Hiruzen released a humourless chuckle. "The villagers already know it, sort of. They called our young lady here the Kyūbi or the Kyūbi's child. If only they knew how right they were..." The kunoichi's tilted head told the old man she was drawing a blank. Not the most uncommon occurrence. "You are the Kyūbi."

**A/N~**

I can't think of anything to say here.

...

(releases Tora for the readers to catch)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Demon's child

**Disclaimer: What is the use of this thing? If any of us owned Naruto, then why are we posting it here when we could have had it printed in Shonen Jump? I don't own Naruto. There, happy? I'm not...**

**Note: Some graphic content coming up. Just a mention of it, nothing too bad.**

The girl stared in shock at the old man she considered a grandfather. The story was shocking. "So the Fourth's son died before childbirth and when Kyūbi, my mother, escaped from his wife, she gave birth to me."

Hiruzen nodded.

"And Kyūbi, while under the control of an unknown party, resisted repeatedly until the person killed her by pushing her strained body too hard. The unknown man had also threatened to kill her daughter to try and persuade the fox to give in," Kakashi continued.

Hiruzen nodded.

The kunoichi swallowed hard. "Before she, the Fourth and his wife died, they had me, Kyūbi's surviving child, put on the Uzumaki and Namikaze clan registers and a seal was placed on me so nobody would know I was a demon's child and a girl?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Not entirely accurate, but close enough."

"What isn't accurate?" Kakashi asked.

"Fox demons can release a charm aura. The seal on your stomach was stopping it from working as well as disguising your gender. Young kitsune are not able to control it and it runs rampant until they gain control over it or reach adulthood. For a young female, her aura can have a...negative effect, especially when the person under the spell harbours deep hatred for her," Hiruzen said as he looked away.

"What negative effect?" the kunoichi asked.

Hiruzen tried to find a way to avoid it, but he continued on. "Rape and brutal murder, sometimes not in that exact order."

Kakashi suddenly wanted to burn his first edition (and hopefully signed in the future) copy of Icha Icha Violence due to one semi-violent love scene in it. The kunoichi looked like she was about the throw up and then faint in it. It took a little while for the girl to recover from the mental images.

"What's my name?" she asked.

Hiruzen pulled out a birth certificate and handed it to the girl, who ignored the blood on it that wasn't for the blood seals.

**Last Name: Uzumaki-Namikaze**

**Middle Name: Kyūbi**

**First Name: Naruko**

**Birth Date: October 10th, 2245 ARS**

**Parents: Kyūbi no Yoko**

**Adoptive Parents: Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina**

**Godparents: Jiraiya**

The kunoichi, Naruko, felt a little strange with such a long name. "Is that really my name?"

Hiruzen nodded. "It has been shortened, for numerous reason, to 'Uzumaki Naruko K' with your middle name being an initial for obvious reasons."

Naruko raised an eye brow. "Why not Namikaze?"

"Probably because of the war with Iwa," Kakashi explained, "Sensei really gave them a thrashing and they have wanted revenge on the Namikaze family ever since. If they knew he had a child, they would do their absolute best to string you up over their gate by your guts as a trophy." His face became a little grim. "We also can't count on the villagers, council and many ninja in case a war broke out over your life. They are all too willing to get rid of you and a war would be the perfect excuse."

Only two things were on Naruko's mind right now and she gave them voice. "Can I go home to sleep, then go to Ichiraku's in the morning? I told the old man and Ayame-nee that I would be by after my mission."

Hiruzen smiled. "Of course. Maybe I can go along too. I could pick up Iruka as well since we haven't been able to sit down to a meal together for a little while. You also need some real clothes. I figure I might be able to influence the prices a little if your appearance doesn't fool them."

Naruko smiled happily at the thought of eating with her 'family.' She was ushered out by Kakashi so she could sleep for the night.

Hiruzen's pocket suddenly hurt and he realized that the girl could consume even more food now that she was unsealed. He hoped she had enough food left over to lessen her hunger for ramen by tomorrow morning. Being Hokage didn't pay nearly enough to feed a growing kitsune.

Ayame was used to strange things in the village. It was a ninja village after all, so strange things didn't bother her as much as they could have. Seeing Naruto, no, Naruko as a girl (still Naru-chan to her either way) and hearing the Hokage's explanation didn't change her opinion of Konohagakure's prank master, now prank mistress. She actually pulled the girl aside for a moment to add more to the girl's arsenal for later use.

Men all over the village shuddered for some unknown reason at that moment. Some felt dread when they saw the colors purple or red. One boy suddenly threw up as Ino handed him his change, startling the poor heiress. The men also felt the sudden need to protect their genitals. Sales for groin protection shot through the roof that day. It was unofficially called the 'day of the cup' by vendors in Konoha.

Ayame's father, Teuchi, had been even smoother with the transition than his daughter had been, saying that Naruko would make a good wife for Sakura rather than a good husband, making the poor girl blush hard. It also meant that Naruko's skill with cooking couldn't be held against her anymore. Teuchi even handed over a copy of some of the redhead's favourite ramen dishes, saying that Ayame and him would help her out if they proved difficult. He knew that his sales wouldn't be hurt by this. Naruko came for the ramen and the company of the Ichiraku family.

Ayame giggled when she handed the bill to Iruka and the Hokage, watching both men turn as white as the sheet in front of them. The two started debating who would pay how much of the bill. Negotiations quickly fell apart and it was reduced to a game of rock paper scissors, two wins payed less. The Hokage lost and surrendered his money to feed the stomach of the Shinigami of wallets, Uzumaki Naruko.

Iruka and Hiruzen told the girl that her team would be waiting for her at their usual meeting spot. Naruko had commented on not having to hurry since Kakashi was late enough for twenty ninja, getting everyone who knew the silver haired man well to laugh.

_[Team 7's meeting spot, fifteen minutes later]_

Sakura and Sasuke had given up looking for the meteor that would destroy the world about ten minutes ago. The reason for the search was their teacher, the Hatake Kakashi, had arrived on time and his book wasn't in his hand. Now they were waiting on Naruto's arrival.

"What happened to Naruto last night?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi was, again, happy for the mask since it hid the smile. He resisted the urge to tell her the truth about the former blond, but decided against it. "I don't know, he took off soon after we got back."

"Sorry I'm late! I got cornered by every black cat in Konoha."

Sakura and Sasuke turned to the voice and their minds froze. Kakashi chuckled at the obvious jab as well as his other two students and their reactions.

Running up to them was Uzumaki Naruko, secretly the new Kyūbi since her mother had died and passed on the title to the young kitsune. She was wearing an outfit similar to Sakura's, though Naruko's was sleeveless and she wore elbow warmers with bandages on her shins and biceps. Naruko's outfit was also black with a silver Uzumaki spiral on the back.. The girl still had her hair down like Sakura's hair, though Naruko's hair almost reached her thighs. Sakura also noted a bit more curve to this new girl than she had, meaning she was an enemy. It didn't help that the girl was slim too.

"Who are you?" was Sakura and Sasuke's first question.

Naruko smiled. "You knew me as Uzumaki Naruto, but in reality, I am Uzumaki Naruko! I was disguising myself as a boy so that nobody would do anything bad to me for all my pranks," she explained in her usual loud fashion, "Jiji decided I was strong enough now to drop the henge and assume my true identity!"

Kakashi smiled at the easily told lie. Much of the young kitsune's life was a lie. The smiles were, more often than not, fake and plastered on to hide the pain. All in all, Naruko would make a fine kunoichi, if the council ever got off his back about the Uchiha... The Jōnin then cleared his throat to get their attention. "The chūnin exams are coming up and I nominated Team 7 to join them."

Sakura and Naruko were shocked. Kakashi noted Sasuke's smirk. He felt unnerved, but he would have to teach the heir personally later. He knew he would have to focus on Sasuke to make the council less suspicious of him, but he also had to help out Naruko and Sakura. He knew the right people to call to help them. First things first. "Take these and decide if you want to join." He handed each genin a form to enter the exam. "If you do decide to join the exam, go to the academy with these filled out in a few minutes." He shunshined away.

"Nothing is stopping me from getting stronger," Sasuke muttered loud enough to be heard.

Sakura wished she could say that she felt ready. She looked at the form and saw the deadline was 1:30PM. "SENSEI YOU BAKA! We only have an hour till the deadline!" she yelled after her sensei.

"I'm joining and passing!" Naruko announced as loudly as possible, making Sakura's last outburst a weak shout in comparison.

"Shut up!"

Team 7 turned to see Team 10, Yamanaka Ino leading the pack as Akimichi Choji munched on chips and Nara Shikamaru mentally repeated 'troublesome blonde' because it was too troublesome to mutter over and over again.

"Where did your old noise box go? Where did you find this new and improved one?" Ino asked, talking about the old Naruto.

"Right here! Uzumaki Naruko, formerly Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruko shouted back.

"Drop the henge Naruto," Choji said without slowing down, "it isn't funny unless some pervert is knocked back by their sick thoughts." Back at the academy, Iruka sneezed. Across Konoha, Ebisu tripped. In the Hokage tower, Hiruzen accidentally stamped his finger while rejecting yet another stupid request involving Naruko.

Naruko's smile widened. "It's not a henge. The old me was the henge. Oiroke was just for kicks."

Ino got annoyed with what her team thought was a prolonged joke and she stepped forward. Asuma arrived at the worst possible time. "Just drop the joke, dead last!" Ino's voice went to its volume limit as she placed her hands on Naruko's chest and her mind started reeling. Asuma looked away and put a hand to his nose, hoping Kurenai wasn't around.

Ino's mind was not working right. Some nerves between her hands and her brain must be broken. The reason she thought this was because Naruko may or may not have the same skills as in the academy, the idiot she had always thought was a boy was indeed a girl since Ino had, secretly, developed and was using a technique that pierced henge with a touch, and according to Ino's quick hand measurements (read: groping), Naruko was definitely not dead last in terms of size. More like she was pretty close to Hinata.

"I-Inoooo!" Naruko moaned, not knowing what the feeling coursing through her body was. It felt really nice though. She felt really hot, especially in her chest, neck and face.

Ino fainted into Naruko's somewhat bountiful chest because of the moan as well as the hand full of breast in each of her hands. Naruko's heavy blush, panting and...was that lust in her eyes? None of that helped Ino too much. Naruko caught her before she fell to the ground.

Choji's bag hit the dirt and his chips were blown away in the wind, completely forgotten by the Akimichi as he watched the two girls and what happened between them. His mind filled with images that would make Kakashi and a certain white haired Sannin proud. Shikamaru just sighed and left. Sasuke followed the lazy genius. Asuma decided to go away before he wound up becoming a perverted bookworm like Kakashi. Unlike the aforementioned open pervert, Asuma had a (potential) lover that didn't have page numbers, though she did have a nice 'cover.'

Naruko looked down at the fallen heiress and shrugged before picking her up bridal style, her face still a little red. "Let's go turn these in," she said as she indicated the forms and the fainted girl.

"Shouldn't we take Ino-pig home?" Sakura asked, "I'm sure the pigsty misses her."

Naruko shook her head. "Shikamaru had a form, meaning Team 10 is also in the exams. Let's go and ace this exam!" She rushed off.

Sakura looked down at the form in her hand and saw the slight tremor. She didn't feel ready for this. She grabbed her hand and stopped the tremor. Sasuke-kun would be there to help her out. So would Naruko.

_[Academy, Exam Room]_

When Sakura arrived, Kakashi congratulated her and the rest of Team 7, saying only a full team could enter this year. They entered while Naruko carried Ino in the same way she had been carrying her the whole time. It had been a rather...eventful trip to say the least. Sakura and Naruko never knew eye brows could grow very thick.

Inuzuka Kiba was the first to know they were there. It was odd though. He smelled the Uchiha prick when he had come in. Now he smelled Sasuke's pink haired harpy, his blonde haired siren and some kunoichi who smelled sort of like Naruto, but also smelled of something else. He turned to see the strange kunoichi carrying the loudmouth blonde who had often caused his ears to ring with her Uchiha worship. _'Looks like Naruto got kicked off the team and replaced. Ah well, never expected that dead last idiot to pass in the first place, let alone make it to a team,'_ the Inuzuka heir thought as he examined this new girl, liking what he saw.

The girl put the blonde heiress down in a seat and walked over to the gathering of the other rookies from the academy. "Looks like everyone from the academy is here," she said, getting strange looks from the others.

"Who are you foxy?" Kiba asked, liking the nickname he thought up. She was definitely a vixen in his eyes.

Sasuke stepped up. "I'll make it short. Naruto was a henge, this is the real deal. Her name is Uzumaki Naruko." He walked away to sit down next to an Ame ninja, not wanting to stay around the others for longer than he had to be. Naruko looked down at the smoke bombs and flash bangs in her hands, seemingly saddened that she couldn't use them for some grand display anymore.

"No way! You're Naruto?" Kiba shouted. The others were speechless. Naruko nodded.

"Naruko huh?"

Team 7 turned to see a grey haired genin standing there. "Who are you?" Sakura asked.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto," he then shook hands with Naruko and Sakura, but Sasuke refused to move. "No matter. I am just here to wish you luck in the chūnin exam." When he turned and stepped forward, he bumped his shoulder into a genin from a different village. "Sorry."

"Not sorry enough," the ninja said as he swung his fist at Kabuto. The older genin dodged it, but then fell down while holding his ear.

"Kabuto-san!" Sakura shouted as she and Naruko went to see what was wrong. His left ear was bleeding slightly. Naruko looked up, but the attacking genin was gone.

"I'm fine," Kabuto assured the girls, "I'll get some help from my teammates. That is the key of this exam anyways; teamwork." He then walked unsteadily into the crowd.

A number of chūnin and a scarred man with a bandana appeared in the room. "Sit down, maggots," the scarred man ordered. Naruko sat down quickly, sitting next to Ino, who was starting to wake up. Everyone was quickly seated and the chūnin flashed by, leaving a paper and a few pencils before each genin.

"I am Morino Ibiki, first proctor of the Chūnin Selection Exam. Welcome to the first stage of Hell," he said menacingly. "This part of the exam is a written test. The rules are a bit different though. You will start with ten points. Each wrong answer will deduct a point. The scores will be added up amongst your team, so if one person fails, that means that the exam is over for your team. If you get caught cheating more than three times, you and your team will be forcefully ejected from the test," the man explained, "before I forget, the final question will be revealed in the last ten minutes of the test. Begin!"

Pages were flipped and Kiba's comment mirrored everyone's thoughts. "This shit is hard!" he groaned. Sakura noticed that she could answer the questions, but most of them were far too difficult for a regular genin to answer. Even Sasuke-kun would have some difficulty with them. For Naruko...she was doomed. No question about it.

THUD!

The guy next to Sasuke shot up as a kunai slammed into his paper, cutting the pencil and nearly taking the youth's fingers with it. "What the hell?" he shouted at the chūnin who had thrown the knife. "You got caught cheating four times. Take your team, get out and try again next time," the man ordered. The whole team left.

_'Got caught four times...'_ Sasuke wondered. He had answered what he could, which was a question on kunai passing each other after being thrown. He then noticed something. A ninja was using a small katon to release barely visible wisps of smoke. A quick look back showed a genin looking at the smoke through some kind of eye piece and a mirror, then writing something down. Sasuke noticed more subtle forms of cheating around him, as well as some blatantly obvious ones, and it clicked. _'This test is not a test to determine our knowledge, but to see if we can skillfully acquire knowledge through information gathering. That explains the cheating tolerance and the difficult questions.'_ He looked around till he found a person who looked completely at ease as he did his test. Incomplete Sharingan came to life and Sasuke was a boy possessed as he copied the movements perfectly. _'Naruko. Even a dobe like you can realize what the purpose of this test is. Let's hope that the skills that allow you to sneak by ANBU to deface the monument are enough to let you cheat well enough to pass.'_

Naruko was screwed! Royally screwed! Hokage level screwed!

She had never been one for the tough lessons. Her best studying at those times had been examining the back of her eye lids and dreaming of dates with Sakura-chan. Worst of all, she had these new abilities that she had been noticing and didn't really know how to use. Jiji had explained a few of her abilities, such as causing tsunamis with her tails, spitting fire and enhanced senses that made the Inuzuka clan look like amateurs. The ability that was best for the young vixen's future as a ninja was her ability to sense lies and deceit, basically negative emotions. That ability let her know that a number of people in this exam were lying, pretending to be taking it. They were most likely chūnin who were meant to be the targets of skillful information gathering skills. What bothered her was that Ibiki was lying too.

Why did these conclusions mean nothing? Naruko's abilities to gather information were zero! She hadn't had enough time to work out her hearing to distinguish how the pencil was moving and she doubted she would have been able to cut out the sound of other pencils anyways. Her sight was good, but it wasn't like she had Sharingan. Her sense of smell would be useless even if Kiba wasn't flooding the place with the scent of dogs. While she was on that subject, she wondered if he even knew what a bath was. Him and Akamaru smelled pretty bad. Strangely, Akamaru smelled cleaner than Kiba. That was disturbing since Kiba gave the dog his baths.

She looked at the clock and noticed that about thirty minutes were left. She started panicking and looked around in fear, fully expecting Sakura to beat her into the next century for failing. She suddenly felt a little woozy for a moment, then shook her head to get rid of the feeling. _'I've got to at least try! Or skillfully answer at random!'_ she yelled at herself. She looked down at her current foe and her jaw dropped.

The entire page was filled out with, what Naruko assumed, were the right answers. A quick look at the clock showed eleven minutes left. She looked around for the source of her completed test and lost time.

"Times up! Drop the pencils," Ibiki yelled. "Before I give you the question, I must warn you that the test you just completed means nothing as of now!"

"WHAT?" Naruko shouted, the windows actually vibrating from the force of her voice. Later, the Hokage would tell her to try to keep chakra out of her vocal chords while shouting because she could turn a simple shout into a powerful blast of chakra enhanced noise. A full on scream would probably be able to put a considerable dent in the Hokage monument if left unchecked.

Ibiki shook his head lightly to lessen the ringing in his ears. "Like I said, the first nine question mean nothing. This last question is a make it or break it question, a test in itself," he smiled evilly at the genin, "I must warn you though; answering this question wrong will result in you being permanently removed from the list of candidates for all future chūnin exams." He let this soak into the heads of the genin. "You can choose to not take this final question on and retire from the exam now, leaving you with the chance to advance in the next exam six months from now," he said.

Almost instantly, teams started leaving. They were leaving faster than during the original test. Ino felt scared. She hadn't really felt ready for this test, but she had to be strong, or at least appear to be, so Sasuke-kun would eventually turn to her in interest. That is also why she forced Shikamaru and Choji into coming as well. In truth, she had expected the worst from moment one. They were weak and everyone knew it. Team 10 was designed for stealth, sneak attacks and information gathering. Team 8 and 7 were more combat oriented.

For Team 7, Naruko was, or used to be, a tank with her stamina being used to wear her opponents out. Recent rumours claimed she had access to katon now, though they were just rumours Sakura was a supporting type who knew some decent jutsu that could be used to open the enemy's defences up for her teammates to attack. Sasuke was pretty good at everything, though his teamwork and genjutsu needed work. His powerful katon were used to basically blast holes in the enemy ranks while his taijutsu, tools and speed were used to finish up whatever was left.

Team 8 was similar. Hinata could disable an enemy with her Jūken abilities. Shino was capable of running interference with his bugs, syphoning chakra from the target, gathering information, tracking or just making it easier for the taijutsu specialists of Team 8 to land a blow. Kiba was the tank, though he was more speed and attack oriented than Naruko was. He was also the main tracker of Team 8.

Team 10 was just screwed up and too centralized to be effective in combat. Choji was a pure taijutsu type, a tank in the truest sense. Shikamaru was in the same boat as Sakura and Shino, a person who opened holes in the guards of Team 10's targets. His few 'attacks' were either too slow, too limited or restricted to regular taijutsu and tools. Ino herself wasn't much better. She had some good genjutsu, but mostly relied on her ability to rob the target of their own body. Her tool use and taijutsu were both quite weak. Plain and simple, all their combat effectiveness was concentrated in one member when the other rookie teams had two members who could fight on a competent level. Team 10 was more suited to espionage missions.

It was an understatement to say that her hand rose at the same time Sakura's started to rise: right at the same moment Naruko made herself known.

Across the room, Sakura was conflicted. She was wondering why her eyes strayed to Naruko, why her head was filled with Naruko and not Sasuke-kun. Why was it that she could clearly see an older Naruko sitting on a roof, staring at the Hokage monument with a forlorn expression? Why was it that she could see Naruko's pained face at getting a D and C-rank mission while people her age were getting B and A-rank missions? Why was it all about Naruko and not Sakura herself and Sasuke-kun? Why did she want Naruko to become Hokage all of a sudden?

The answer hit her quickly: she could see Naruko becoming Hokage. The girl radiated the same aura that the Sandaime had. Her kind smile when playing ninja with children was the same as when the Hokage took a moment to teach the children something or to just tell them a joke or two. Plain and simple, Naruko seemed to be more like the Hokage than the rest of the Sarutobi family. She figured that Naruko's training began long before the academy with a Professor who truly cared about her growth.

Sakura wasn't blind. She had often seen the academy instructors (other than Iruka) talking to Naruto (when he was henged) personally, then she saw his skills become worse and worse with each of these lessons. Sakura was also beginning to suspect that her rust haired teammate was far more intelligent and skilled than she let on. Naruko had, most likely, taken what Kakashi said about looking beneath the beneath to heart, hiding her abilities until she needed them.

Because she didn't want any of this crushed before it began, she lifted her hand up with an uneasy smile on her face. It wasn't the satisfaction of stopping Naruko from advancing, it was a nervous and pride filled smile. She was finally doing what a ninja did: protecting something that she considered important.

BANG! CRUNCH!

Everyone stopped to look at Naruko, who was looking down at the now badly cracked desk under her fist. "Uh...Sorry, I wasn't trying to do that!" she quickly shouted. She calmed herself down a bit. "I know you're lying, but it doesn't matter at all. I will become Hokage no matter what anyone says to me. You can't stop me or anyone else from becoming what we want to be."

Naruko's speech had a double effect. Her teammate and desk partner both felt confident all of a sudden. Naruko was the dead last in everything except chakra reserves and if she could mush on, so could they. The other effect was making some of the others who were about to leave decide against it. This was mostly due to men not wanting to be outdone by some random girl. Who cares if she was attractive? They would show her they were just as good, if not better, and then maybe they would have a chance with her.

Ibiki noticed he couldn't make more people to leave unless he put a kunai to their throats and ordered them to go. He had lost to some scrap of a girl he hadn't ever seen before, though she did remind him of this annoying brat in almost neon orange that he had once heard at a ramen stand.

He sighed, "you all pass."

Everyone stared at him in shock. "What about the tenth question?" Sakura asked.

"There is no tenth question. It was simply a test of wills," Ibiki explained, "as I am sure you all noticed, the first nine questions were all about your information gathering skills. This last question was a test of your resolve. Those with weak resolve are the ones who break first when captured and interrogated." The man removed his bandana, revealing scars from kunai and what they assumed were screws of some sort. He replaced the bandana once he was sure that everyone had a good look. "Now for the ne-"

CRASH!

A ball of grey flew through the window and went for the spot in front of Ibiki. It unfurled when four kunai flew out to anchor themselves in the floor and ceiling. It was a banner and a woman stood before it. It read: Mitarashi Anko! Chūnin Exam Second Part Proctor!

"I'm Anko," she shouted as she pointed forward, "prepare to go to the tenth ring of Hell!"

Everyone who had been in class with Naruko automatically placed this Anko woman into the same category. "It's Naruko's mother!" Kiba shouted. A kunai slammed into the desk before him, clearly aiming for his genitals.

"Anko," Ibiki deadpanned as he peeked around the banner, "you are early...again. And Hell only has nine circles, not rings."

The woman showed the decency to blush like a kid caught doing something really bad, then she took stock of the genin. "You going soft Ibiki?" she asked, "you barely put a dent in them."

"What can I say?" Ibiki shrugged, "they were easy to break before _somebody_ motivated them to stay." He lightly gestured towards Naruko with a quick glance. Said girl caught the barely discernible motion, wondering how many others like it she could now pick up with her eyes.

Anko turned to look at Naruko, squinting her eyes as she tried to place the girl. "Naruto? That you?" she asked. Naruko's face assumed the expression that many associated with a frog. Anko smiled brightly, then pulled out a kunai and flung it to slice the girl's cheek. In a flash, the kunai was retrieved and Naruko was pinned to her desk. Anko sat on the cracked desk, leaned in and licked the cut. "It's Naru-kun!" Anko cheered happily after tasting the blood. With that cut and lick, Naruko remembered the woman who had attempted to make her switch from the heavenly taste of ramen for the sweet temptation that was dango. That meeting had started with a sliced cheek as well. "Dango lady," Naruko muttered.

Anko hugged the girl tightly, forcing Naruko's face into her bust. Since Naruko was still only interested in women, she quickly fainted from the experience. "Ah, I killed his innocence," Anko said, "I'll take this one to the next part of the exam. Send the others when it is time." She took Naruko and jumped out a different window, shattering it too.

"Um, Sensei?" Sakura tried. Ibiki looked at her. "Where is the next exam part being held?" she asked. Ibiki face palmed while muttering about scatter brained ninja.

**A/N~**

For those who think Naruko got used to being a girl too quickly. Remember that Naruto is used to lying to hide his pains and fears. That means Naruko is a damn fine actress as well. I will also explain how and why Bijū have children later.

**Note-**

ARS (After Rikudō Sennin) = A measurement of time. The year count returned to 0 after the Sage of Six Paths sealed away the Jūbi and created ninjutsu.

**Review Responses-**

**God Emperor Of GAR-halla:** ...I don't really know how to respond to this one. I guess you can just follow along since... Che! I can't say anything without spoiling later events.

**SuperNeos2:** I know, right? This was originally just a Naruko/Sakura, but I noticed there is only one Naruko/Ino and it was actually a NaruHina, SakuIno and something else. Someone miss clicked somewhere.

**BilingualKyuubi:** You know, I didn't even realize that. Trust me, no transforming into nine-tails form in this story, not yet anyways. Actually, I don't know if I'm going to allow Naruko to have the full power she can have. I haven't planned too far beyond Sasuke's betrayal yet.

**ShadowCub:** Guess this chapter bothered you. I did kill off the original Kyūbi after all. Works better for Madara later since he can get a full nine-tails if he plays his cards right. Never was able to figure out how that plot hole, along with so many others, would get plugged up later.

Naruko getting over Sakura. Not happening. This is a Naruko/Ino/Sakura story. Sakura will be nicer in this story, especially after Naruko starts using her demonic powers. You really don't want to piss off a girl who can (gets silenced by Ino and Sakura to prevent spoiling the story)

As for the Iwa excuse, I think I explained it quite well. As I pointed out, all of Konoha wouldn't be willing to fight a war with Iwa to protect Naruto. In fact, some people might actually try to secretly hand him over to Iwa to end it. Remember that they hated him in part I. No matter who leads the army, they won't fight for something they hate with everything they have. For Konoha, it would be a great blessing to be rid of him and end a war.

**LPNinten:** I'm surprised nobody else has done this pairing yet. Ino is the second most likely girl in the Narutoverse that I figure would go lesbian, hence my fic _Konoha's Two Demons_ and ,later, its mirror _Necessary Darkness._ The most likely girl to be a lesbian, in my opinion, is Sakura. (Anko and Kurenai are dead giveaways. Imagine those two making out. Here's some tissues to stop the nosebleed.)

**Dinian:** Actually, I had a brief scare when someone released a fic in the Naruto/Sakura section that had a summary that sounded eerily like mine. Almost made me not post this fic. It vanished less then two hours after posting, so I think I'm in the clear. Anyways, I believe that Naruto was just a girl in that fic, not a female fox demon.

I wanted to add something to the Naruko/Ino section since it was bare, except for the one I mentioned to SuperNeos2. There are also lots of (hot) pictures of Naruko/Sakura, Naruko/Ino and even a few Naruko/Ino/Sakura ones scattered around.

While I'm here, what new twist to an old twist are you talking about? The weakening seal in Wave? I know some people use that scene or the one where Sasuke stabs Naruto with a chidori to fuse him and the fox together.

**All:** In case you didn't notice, Sasuke is more of an ass in this fic. This is not the worst Sasuke I have created, just wait until _Legendary Shadow Knight Naruto_ (title subject to change) comes out. That has to be one of the most arrogant ones I can think of.

Before anyone asks, I will be creating outfits for Naruko from my own mind. I must have been a gay clothing designer in a past life because I can co-ordinate a girl's outfit quite well. Either that or I got a hidden talent.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Is this what home feels like?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

The genin stared in shock at the massive gated fence before them. It had to be at least twenty feet high and looked to be made of incredibly strong metal. To top it off, the gate (that they could see, this was gate number 14) had more locks on it than all the doors in Konoha combined as well as barbed wire so thick it looked like a tube of barbed metal was atop the fences.

"So this isn't a henge?" Anko asked the redhead. Naruko nodded, "the old me was a henge!" Anko wanted to ask more and teach the girl a few tricks, but she noticed the other genin had arrived. "Well, I guess it is time to get started with this part of the exam," she turned to Naruko briefly, "go hook up with your team." Naruko got up and ran to her teammates at top speed. The speedy movement caught the interest of a number of the genin present. The most note worthy were a Hyūga girl, a young man wearing green spandex, a grey haired youth and a grass ninja.

"Welcome to Training Area 44, also known as the Forest of Death," Anko announced, "though it is much better known as my playground. The giant tigers are cute and cuddly." Everyone present, even the high ranked ninja, sweat dropped at her comment. "This leg of the exam is a five day long battle royal where you will be fighting other genin teams, wild animals and the express need to throttle the idiots in your team," many people looked at those idiots in their team while Anko took a breath, "you will nominate a team leader, then you will go to this tent to receive a scroll." Anko pulled out two scrolls, one marked 'Earth' and the other marked 'Heaven.' She held them up for all to see, "each team will receive one scroll and you will need to take the one you don't have from the other teams by any means necessary. Since there are a limited number of each scroll, only half of you could pass, though most likely less than a quarter of you will make it out alive. After getting a scroll, make your way to the tower in the center of the forest. Get moving!"

After a few moments of shivers or whatever it was people did when they heard something ominous, the teams started deciding who would lead. For Team 7, Sasuke wound up pulling the clan card, then the Kekkai Genkai card, the 'only guy in the group' card, then started pulling out the popularity card when Naruko growled and told him to shove the damn scroll up his ass for all she cared. They went to the tent, which Sasuke noted was curtained so it would be that much harder to guess who had what scroll. Team 7 was assigned to Gate 22 and received a Heaven Scroll. They were warned not to open it before they got to the tower, another thing Anko forgot to mention, before they stowed it in a metal carrier with a belt for carrying.

Team 7 waited before their gate. After a few minutes, the man at the gate cracked it open. "Go now!" he bellowed. Team 7 ran through the opening and heard the gate slam shut behind them.

_[End of day 1, somewhere in the forest]_

Naruko wanted nothing more than to punt Sasuke's sleeping duck ass out of the forest and into the Hokage Monument. The bastard cheated during their rock paper scissors duel, using his sharingan to read his teammate's hand movements so he could counter them. Then Naruko almost beat Sakura-chan's rock with her paper, but noticed it coming and switched to scissors. Now guard duty was Naruko from 10pm until 2am, then Sakura-chan from 2am to 5am, then Sasuke would guard from 5am till 7am when they would start moving again.

It was now 2:30am.

Naruko let Sakura-chan sleep, not feeling tired in the least bit. Oddly enough, despite all the tree climbing, running and constant worry of being attacked by a wild animal, Naruko felt oddly at peace in the forest. She felt invigorated. Team 7 hadn't encountered any other genin nor did they run into wild beasts. That struck the kitsune as weird. Well, with how much Team 7 had to walk and with there being 44 gates to this wonderful forest, it was no small wonder that no other team had stumbled across them yet.

Naruko took another deep breath of the crisp night air and fed the small fire some wood to keep it going. She was going to wake the teme up and hour early and make him take the rest of the watch, the cheating jerk.

_[Day 2, 10am, somewhere else in the forest]_

Sakura had a full night of sleep, Naruko having opted to cover most of the first two shifts. Sakura would have been a little worried, but Naruko seemed to be as energetic as ever, possibly even more than usual if such a thing were possible.

They were currently moving through the trees because the terrain under them was too rough for running. Sasuke was in the front with Sakura in the middle and Naruko bringing up the rear. This didn't seem to be a good setup because Naruko kept accidentally passing Sakura.

Speaking of the girl, she seemed a bit...weird for the last while. She kept turning and looking in various directions, almost like she heard something.

"Naruko, stop doing that," Sasuke ordered.

The redhead locked her gaze on the heir. "But I keep hearing things," she said.

Sasuke signalled a stop. The three genin descended to ground level because it was starting to even out enough to run across. "Alright," Sasuke said, then kicked Naruko hard in the stomach.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stammered.

"I never thought I would meet someone who was even worse at transforming than Naruko," Sasuke said to the girl he had just kicked, "Naruko wears her weapon pouch on her right leg, not the left."

'Naruko' released the henge, revealing herself to be a male Ame-nin with a full gas mask. He threw a kunai at Sakura, marking her as the weak link. Sasuke deflected the weapon, then threw his own to make the ninja run. He gave chase, seeing Naruko laying on the ground, drooling a bit while knocked out. He tossed a kunai down next to her head, figuring she had been caught and replaced with little trouble. Hopefully, the kunai landing next to her head would rouse her.

He returned his attention to the Ame-nin and attempted to land a few hard blows on him, but the ninja just wove around the strikes. With one of these odd twists, the older ninja swung his arm at Sasuke's face, knocking him down to a tree branch. The ninja then jumped down at Sasuke, intent on finishing him off.

Thunk!

The attacking ninja had to redirect himself at the last moment to avoid a kunai thrown courtesy of Naruko. Sasuke took the weapon using a variation of the tree climbing exercise and launched it at the ninja while there was an opening. As expected, the ninja twisted out of the way, but provided a large enough opening for Sasuke to appear behind him and strike him down with the same kunai he had just dodged.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled as his sharingan blazed, "this is real combat! Freezing up will end with you dying! You need to wake up and fight for your life!" Sakura started at this, but realized that she would have to fight with her all soon enough. This is why she didn't feel ready for this exam.

A few minutes later, after having found no scroll on the dead ninja, the team decided to use a code so they wouldn't mess up again. It was a really complicated code too. "Let's get goi-" Sasuke started, but a large blast of wind struck the genin, throwing Naruko away with a particularly powerful gust.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," a kunoichi said from the center of the blast. She didn't look like too much, but she radiated power. She merely smirked as Sakura and Sasuke recovered their footing. In a flash, kunai slammed into their foreheads, killing them. The sensation disappeared in a moment and Sasuke realized that it was just the woman's killing intent, nothing else.

_'This is bad,'_ Sasuke thought as his gaze slid over to see Sakura shaking and crying on the ground from the sensation. The girl was overloaded on killing intent, her mind temporarily broken. _'We need to move!'_ He battled with his body as the Kusa-nin drew closer and closer, every step throwing waves of KI at the two genin. When she threw a pair of kunai at the two, Sasuke drew his own kunai and stabbed himself in the leg, then tackled Sakura out of the way with the blade still in him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, shocked at waking up from the nightmare to see Sasuke with a kunai in his leg. Another volley of kunai flew at them and they had to split up.

_[Not too far away, same time]_

"Ow!" the redheaded kitsune snapped as she held her head. She had been thrown into a tree, but not before bouncing off a tree root or two, maybe a rock too. "Where is Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme?" she asked herself as she looked around. She calmed herself and attempted to listen for the sounds of battle or something. A very strong smell hit her nose, one that she would later realize was fear. She heard something, but it wasn't battle. Her eyes snapped open to see a very large snake staring down at her, tongue flicking out to taste the air.

"Oh shit!" Naruko shouted as the snake darted for her. She jumped at the last second, making the snake miss by a few centimeters. She actually landed on it and then decided it was katon time.

...

"Um, how did I do it again?" she asked herself. The snake didn't like ferrying people around, so it batted the girl off its head with its tail. Naruko landed and looked up in time for the snake to slam into her, mouth wide open.

_'I was eaten...'_ Naruko thought as she was swallowed. She took solace in knowing that no other Hokage (to-be) before her has been eaten by a giant snake and lived to tell the tale, of course, she had to live first. Since she couldn't remember how she used that katon before and she had no tails or anything, she had to think of another way to escape.

Hiss.

"Dammit! I'm getting burned!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. To her shock, the snake exploded for some reason. She recovered after she picked herself off the ground, happy that she didn't have snake bits all over her. "I'm the next Hokage, I can't become lunch yet," she told any other large creatures that might be looking for a free snack. She bolted towards the smell, thinking it might lead her to her friends.

She didn't notice her hair growing wilder, or her nails sharpening as she ran. She didn't even notice when she dropped to all fours and took to the high tree branches with a single leap.

_[Sasuke and Sakura]_

"Sasu-!" Sakura started, but the heir faced her with a kunai ready. She realized what he wanted and repeated the code. Sasuke relaxed slightly. "We need to find Naruko," he said. Sakura nodded and the two started to move around, looking for the redhead.

"Sasuke!" the girl shouted as she came into view. "Quiet!" Sakura shot back. Naruko scratched the back of her head. "Sorry Sakura."

In a flash, Sakura knocked Naruko back and held a kunai to her throat as Sasuke also pointed his kunai to her heart. Naruko looked shocked for a moment, then started to chuckle in a creepy tone. "How did you know it wasn't me?" she asked as the henge dispelled to reveal the grass ninja. "Naruko always calls me Sakura-chan," the pinkette informed the dark haired woman.

"Such a stupid mistake," the Kusa-nin said before blowing the genin away with another gust of wind. Luckily, they were blown away together this time.

When they landed, Sakura noticed that Sasuke was bleeding badly. "Sasuke-kun!" she shouted, only to be stopped from continuing when Sasuke placed his hand over her mouth. She noticed his expression, one she hadn't seen since Wave: Sasuke was panicking. _'For Sasuke-kun to panic like this, that woman must be very dangerous!'_ Sakura then noticed a large snake slide between them as it eyed Sasuke's head.

"Mmm! Mmmm!" Sakura tried. Good thing Sasuke decided to reinforce the need to remain quiet by turning to look at her. This allowed him to see the snake attempt to bite his head off. He released Sakura and jumped away from the serpent as it grew larger. It followed him and he launched kunai and shuriken into its head, killing it. He landed in the branches while the snake's body fell to the ground. He was catching his breath when it tore open and the Kusa-nin rose out of the wound.

"Kukukuku," she chuckled, "very good Sasuke-kun. Now let us talk for a moment." She pulled out an Earth scroll. "You want my Earth scroll?" She opened her mouth and her tongue wrapped around the scroll, then she swallowed it. "Let's battle for the scroll then," she...pulled the skin away from her eye slightly as her face seemed to become more masculine and older for a moment, "with our lives as the prize!"

Another snake flew at Sasuke, this one being the woman as her lower body became a snake's tail. She wound up the tree in a flash and struck at Sasuke with two kunai, much like a snake would bite a bird. Sasuke jumped out of the way, throwing kunai at the woman. She wove around the weapons as she sped at Sasuke. Sasuke went for another kunai, but found no more as the woman closed in.

Three kunai slammed into the branch in front of the woman, forcing her to change direction and go to another tree.

"Sorry Sasuke," Naruko said from her branch, "I forgot that code right away."

Sakura had never been so happy to see Naruko and Sasuke looked relieved as well. But it didn't mean much. Naruko had not been able to reproduce that katon of hers and she hadn't gotten much better after releasing her henge. You would think that using henge heavily for at least eight or so years would give her some awesome chakra control, but it didn't do jack for her.

Sasuke sighed to himself and removed the scroll and its case from his shoulder. He placed it on the branch. "We yield to you," he said as he backed off.

The kunoichi chuckled. "Very good Sasuke-kun. The prey knows that presenting something more valuable will appease the predator." She went to get it, but another kunai landed in front of her as Naruko landed in front of Sasuke and grabbed the scroll.

"Naru-!" Sasuke shouted, but Naruko punched him in the face. Surprisingly, Sasuke flew back into the tree they were on. "Shut up you imposter!" she shouted, "I don't remember the code, but I know a coward like you could never be Sasuke!" Sasuke snapped back up. "You don't understand anything! We need to hand over the scroll or she will kill us!" SLAP! Sasuke was staggering back from Naruko. "You idiot! What makes you think she will be happy with the scroll!" Naruko shouted back.

The Kusa-nin chuckled. "Why would you go spoiling my fun like that, little girl?" Sasuke started sweating bullets. He should have realized it when he first saw her. Nothing other than their deaths would satisfy this woman. "I don't know who you are, but I would bet that you are _her_ daughter with that monstrous strength," the Kusa-nin mused.

"Who?" Naruko shouted suddenly, "who could be my mother?" She wanted to see how much this woman knew.

"Senju Tsunade," the Kusa-nin stated, "it is the only explanation for that chakra enhanced power you possess." She then finished her summoning, a snake larger than the one Naruko had killed reared back to attack Sasuke.

The heir was still frozen from the realization that the only way they would leave this forest was in body bags, that was if they ever left. He saw the snake, but his body was too numb to move out of the way. Just before it struck, Naruko appeared and stopped it with her bare hands and back. "What's the matter, scaredy cat?" she asked. Before Sasuke could answer, the Kusa-nin's long tongue wrapped around her left wrist and both ankles, then pulled her up to the kunoichi as the snake dispersed.

Orochimaru was furious. Who was this girl? None of Kabuto's information told him about her. When the hell had that old woman gone and had a kid? By the looks of the redhead, it had to be about thirteen years ago. None of that made sense though since he had been keeping tabs on her for a while just in case he needed her. Then again, she might hide a pregnancy and her debts would have forced her to send her kid away. What was most troubling was that Sasuke was supposed to be in a team with that demon brat. He had heard something happened to him in Wave...Could he have been killed there? Orochimaru rethought how the seal worked, figuring that only a proper unsealing would result in the demon breaking free.

Now he had to deal with this annoying little kunoichi. No matter, he would just tear her open from stem to sternum and drop her useless carcass. He would do the same to that annoying little girl with pink hair as well. All he needed from this team was Sasuke.

"Time to get rid of you," Orochimaru hissed as he pulled open her battle dress and prepared to slice her wide open. To his shock, he saw the remains of a seal on her stomach, a seal he had wanted to study for a while. _'That is the Eight Trigrams Seal! But how?'_ he thought for a few moments, then realized that this redhead _was_ the demon child. He chuckled to himself, figuring that the two had fused somehow. Suddenly, the girl was valuable. She had incredible chakra. Maybe he could use her? Without the fox in her, she would be that much easier to take over, providing that she survived the Curse Seal of Heaven. He extended his neck and bit her, instantly feeling her tense up and then faint as the foreign chakra started coursing through her body. It had been difficult, requiring much more chakra than normal, but he still had more than enough chakra to create a seal for Sasuke.

Sakura watched in horror and the woman's neck stretched and bit Naruko's neck. She saw the redhead get tossed away. "Naruko!" Sakura shouted as she threw a kunai to save the girl from falling. What she saw when Naruko was caught up on the tree was something she would have to talk to her about later.

A cry of pain made her look up again and see Sasuke with that woman biting down on his neck too. The heir was also tossed aside, but Sakura caught him before he hit the ground. The Kusa-nin hissed in an amused way.

"What did you do to Naruko and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura shouted. She watched as the woman destroyed their scroll.

"Nothing much, just gave them a mark that will remove the scales from their eyes," the black haired woman said, "both are too powerful for this tiny village. It can't handle people of their level." Her eyes levelled on Sakura, who noted the eyes were now gold with slits, just like a snake's eyes. "They will both come looking for me because I can give them what this village can't ever give them." She sank into the tree and was gone.

Sakura looked down at Sasuke, seeing the black chakra rising from where he had been bitten. "Naruko!" she wailed, then saw Naruko's bite would was also emitting black smoke and she was twitching in pain.

**A/N~**

End of this chapter. Not much to say really. Next up will be Team Dosu versus Sakura & Team 10. Also, don't expect too much evil (there will still be some) from Naruko. I have plans for Orochimaru's hickey.

Anyone who reads Konoha's Two Demons would know that I'm currently ill. Luckily, it seems to be in the final stages. Still cough hard enough to hurt my throat and I can't hear so well out of one ear, but that's normal for me when I have a throat infection and ear infection at the same time. I figure it will be gone or mostly gone by Thursday. Oh, sorry for not posting this earlier. I got kind of wrapped up in writing KTD.

**Dinian:** Naruto/Sakura/Ino is my favourite pairing. Making Naruto a girl just makes it better ;) Nothing beats Yuri except a Yuri Harem!

**Sky Zephyrus:** Naruko's powers are practically never before seen in the Narutoverse. Mostly extremely high end chakra manipulation, but still wildly powerful. And yes, she will be very powerful, but I am giving her a limiter that will make her stronger than in canon, but not powerful enough to smoke Akatsuki with ease.

I have links to some Naruko/Sakura pics on my profile. You could just search on google. You can also find Sasuke in a maid configuration there. Trust me, it's funny.

**ddcj1990:** Here it is.

**Garra king of sand:** Question has been answered.

**SuperNeos2:** That will be explained when the greatest Super Pervert ever to plague the world appears. Hint for later: Groin cup!

**Firestar001:** Thanks for checking out both my fics. And I will continue. Is you're ability to talk supported by Vista? That would explain the failure...

**Hoover456:** Again, I will continue.

**Chm01:** This will be the last one for a little while.

**Anonymous:** Good luck tracking me down. Even in a place where I've lived practically my whole life, only two or three people know where I live. Most don't even know my name, well, not my real name anyways. I'm not exactly a social butterfly and I can blend into a crowd in spite of wearing noticeable clothing. I guess you could say I'm a modern day, urban ninja in that sense. Don't worry though, I will continue this story from the grave if I have to. I just need someone to use Edo Tensei for that to work...

_**!Announcement!**_

I will be working almost exclusively on Konoha's Two Demons until I hit the end of Part I, then I will work on this fic til the same point. I will then switch between the two fics while reading what is currently released. I will release up to chapter 5, but then I will stop while working on Konoha's Two Demons. Once Part I for KTD is fully written out on my computer, I will continue working on and releasing Kyūbi's Kit.

I am doing this because the planning for Konoha's Two Demons Part I is mostly complete while much of Kyūbi's Kit is still unplanned. Arcs will be heavily altered due to Naruko's increased potential and new powers. In a sense, she is an OC. Also, making 12 year old Ino OOC is hard. Right now, I've planned up to the beginning of the Oto/Suna invasion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the cast.**

Chapter 4: Cry of pain

Sakura had managed to move both of her teammates to a tree that had been lifted up by another one's roots, creating a small den of sorts. She had both lying down, wet cloths on their heads. Both had a fever and kept jerking and twitching in pain. They seemed to be having fever driven nightmares, Sasuke mentioning his parents and someone named Itachi a few times, Naruko begging people to leave her alone and to stop hurting her. Sakura found it odd that she preferred listening to Naruko. Sakura had long since figured the two were reliving past memories, so who would have hurt the girl so much that she would beg them to stop?

"You know," Sakura said, having nothing better to do than to talk to the redhead, "you better not be going after Sasuke-kun or else I'm going to beat the crap out of you. You may have taken his first kiss, but everything else is mine!"

Seeing that both were fine for a while, Sakura went and started setting traps so she could keep an eye on her teammates with relative calm. Afterwards she returned and continued talking to the redhead, keeping herself awake.

_[Day 3, 8am]_

Sakura was exhausted. She had very little stamina to begin with, so this was just plain self-inflicted torture. She lifted her gaze and saw a squirrel headed towards them. She threw a kunai to scare it away. She looked at her teammates, watching that creepy black chakra rising from Sasuke's neck. Naruko's had long since turned a dark, stormy blue color. She wondered what that chakra was. Even the tiny wisps of it felt oppressive. She wrung out Sasuke's cloth and replaced it after soaking it again.

"Well well well. What do we have here?"

Sakura looked up to see three people, two boys and a girl. The girl looked normal enough, actually kind of plain. One of the boys wore an over coat and bandages all over his face, only revealing one eye. The other boy was wearing fairly normal clothes, though he used a face protector to hold his hair back. All their headbands identified them as Oto-nin.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked as she prepared a shuriken.

"We are here to kill that Uchiha and redhead," the one wearing the headgear snapped as he stepped forward.

"Zaku! Stop!" the mummy man ordered, "there is a trap in front of you."

Zaku looked down and lifted up the camouflage over the trap. "What the hell... This is just sad."

The kunoichi laughed slightly as she looked at the trap. "Did a civilian do this?" She looked around, noticing the other ones easily. "So pathetic."

"Don't let your guard down Kin," Mummy man warned, "there may be very well hidden traps amongst the obvious ones. Remember, double traps."

Zaku didn't listen and started moving forward through the gaps. "This bitch is too weak, Dosu," Zaku said as he neared the tree, "this is too easy..."

Dosu twitched. "Zaku! Down!" he shouted.

"Wha?"

"**Konoha Senpū!"**

A spinning whirlwind of green appeared and slammed into Zaku, sending him flying back to his team. The whirlwind stopped and became a boy with bowl cut black hair, extremely thick eye brows. He was wearing a green spandex outfit with orange leg warmers. "Rock Lee, Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast arrives to help Haruno Sakura, Konoha's most beautiful flower," he stated, the last part accompanied by a wink and a kiss being blown in Sakura's direction. She dodged the flying kiss. "I will protect you and then we will go on a Youthful date," the declared. Sakura silently screamed 'NO!'

"Pay attention," Dosu said as he appeared before Lee, arm pulled back for a punch.

Lee dodged the attack, but suddenly spat up blood. Dosu seemed satisfied until Lee kicked him into the air. He then jumped after him, appearing behind him. "The conditions have been met," he stated as the bandages on his arms unravelled, only to wind around Dosu to immobile him. Lee redirected them so their heads were pointed towards the ground, then sent them spinning. **"Omote Renge!"** he shouted as they slammed into the ground, Lee flying out of the dust cloud. When the cloud cleared, it showed Dosu buried up to his waist in the dirt.

"You got him!" Sakura cheered, but Lee's hard gaze dampened her mood.

"It was too soft," he muttered.

Dosu pulled himself out of the ground. "Thanks Zaku," he said. Sakura and Lee's gazes trailed to the aforementioned genin, who had somehow lifted the ground after placing his hands on it. He had softened the ground to minimize the damage.

Lee went to move, but his body suddenly started aching. It was the side effect of using Omote Renge. Zaku pointed his hands at Lee, revealing holes with pipes in the palms of his hands. **"Zankūha!"** he shouted as concentrated air slammed into Lee, sending him sailing into a tree. "Now that green boy is down, let's get rid of pinky here and crush the sleeping idiots," Zaku said.

Zaku swung at Sakura's head, making her scramble forward. Sakura got up and swung a kunai down, striking Zaku in his shoulder. "Bitch!" he roared as he backhanded her across the face.

Sakura didn't even get a chance to get up, Kin 'helped' her up by grabbing her hair and yanked Sakura onto her knees. "Such nice, soft hair," Kin admired as she ran her free hand through the pink locks, "are you a ninja or a hair stylist? So much time wasted when you could have been training."

Sakura had come up with a plan to escape, but it required cutting her hair short. She drew out the kunai when three figures ran, well one had help, into the clearing. "I've heard enough!" Ino shouted as she stood there with Shikamaru, both holding onto Choji's scarf, "no one is going to hurt my Sasuke-kun!"

Before anyone could truly recover from Team 10's random entry into the battle, Shikamaru had captured Zaku with his shadow jutsu. **"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"** Ino shouted as she took control of Kin's body, releasing Sakura's hair.

"We have one of your teammates, leave or we will destroy her," Shikamaru warned. Dosu smashed Kin/Ino in the stomach, making both bodies cough up blood. "Dammit! Release the jutsu, these guys don't care for their teammates," Shikamaru ordered. Ino released the jutsu, feeling the pain as soon as she re-entered her own body. Zaku managed to break free of Shikamaru's jutsu as well.

"This isn't good," Shikamaru muttered.

Suddenly, a blue clad figure appeared next to Zaku. "You did this to Sakura," Sasuke said as he swung his arm down on Zaku's head, sending the boy skidding across the ground. Now that they got a good look at the Uchiha, they saw he had black splotches all over his body, all of them coming from his neck.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I know what she gave me now." Sasuke lifted his left hand up to see the marks take it over. "Power. Just like I wanted."

"What?" Sakura didn't know what he meant. Did he mean the bite mark?

"I am an avenger. I live to destroy that man." Sasuke dropped his hand as the marks spread over more than half his face. "First, I have to deal with this trash." He vanished, reappearing next to Kin. He drove his knee into her stomach, sending her into the air. He reappeared above her and slammed a heel drop into her side, sending her flying into Dosu's arms.

"Fuck off asshole!" Zaku shouted as he fired a very large Zankūha at the heir, but Sasuke vanished again. The Uchiha delivered a vicious blow to Zaku's back, then smirked at him.

"So that is all there is to you?" he asked as he seized Zaku's arms. "Without these arms, you are even worse than trash." He placed his foot on Zaku's back and started pulling.

"Wait! Not my arms!" Zaku pleaded. Those pleas fell on deaf ears as Sasuke pulled back, sickening cracks coming from Zaku's shoulders as the bones dislocated from the pressure. The crazed heir grinned down at his enemy as he reached forward. Breaking his arms wasn't enough, no, trash like him needed those useless things ripped right off!

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as she wrapped her arms around the boy's upper body. "No more. You've done enough."

For Sasuke, it was like a bolt of light cut through a black haze. The marks receded. "S-Sakura?" He looked around. "Did I...do this?"

Sakura shook her head as she rested it on his back. "You weren't in control of yourself."

"What? Stop!"

They looked over to see Naruko straddling Kin, strangling her. The rust red haired girl had a blank, but savage look in her eyes as a vicious, snarling grin spread across her face. Naruko had whisker-like marks again, though the two red markings on each cheek looks more like fang tattoos than the old whisker scars. Kin gurgled, losing the ability to futilely fight off the girl.

"Does she have to curse seal too?" Dosu asked himself, catching Sakura's interest. Dosu ran over and swung his arm at Naruko, but the girl used the same speed she used in Wave to avoid the attack. Dosu only had enough time to register that he had missed when Naruko decided to assault him off. Blurs of red, black and silver appeared and disappeared around him as he was pummelled from all sides. A sweeping, slap-like strike knocked him onto his back and Naruko jumped onto him, grabbing his arms as she pinned him to the ground. He tried to throw her off, but she was far too strong!

"_**These things... Do you think something this weak and pathetic makes you strong?"**_ she asked as she held her face a few inches from his own, _**"you can never be as powerful as me!"**_ She crushed Dosu's right arm, armor and bone snapping. Dosu screamed in agony as one of his arms become useless. She threw him away using his uninjured arm.

"Naruko!" Shikamaru shouted, "stop it! They're finished!"

She turned her gaze on him, scaring him at the levels of KI that suddenly hit him. Her slitted eyes seemed to bore into his soul and set it ablaze with freezing fire. _**"I will stop when I want to stop!"**_ she growled, then vanished again.

"Shit!" Shikamaru grunted as he realized what Naruko was about to do and how he had absolutely no way to counter it.

Luckily, the local wild life decided it wanted a meal.

A giant tiger jumped into the clearing, drawn to the blood and fear it smelled. Naruko reappeared a small distance from it. To everyone's shock, the great beast balked in fear before the tiny redhead. It backed away slowly, keeping her in its sight as it practically dragged itself away. This sight amused Naruko long enough for Sakura and Sasuke to grab her.

"**_What? Let me go!"_** she barked as she tried to shake them off.

"No!" Sakura whined as the redhead shook her hard, "you are not the Naruko I know right now!"

"She is right," Sasuke grunted as he almost lost his grip on the girl's other arm, "You are the dobette, not a ruthless killer!"

"**_Get off me now! I want to rip them apart!"_** Naruko roared, the shock wave from her shout knocking everyone but her down. She went to go finish Kin off, but Sakura grabbed her around the waist from the front. **_"Get off!"_**

SLAP!

Everyone looked in shock, having just seen Sakura slap a girl who just caused a very large tiger to basically wet itself in fear. The slap caused Naruko to watch in shock as Sakura stood up before her.

"You are Naruko!" Sakura shouted in the girl's face, then she wrapped her arms around her, "you are Naruko...not Gato or the old Zabuza."

Naruko's eyes widened. Everyone watched as the pupils returned to a normal shape, the claws changing to long nails, the hair becoming a lighter shade of rust red and the incredible KI weakening. The fang marks remained though. "Sakura...chan?" she asked, then she slumped to the ground, taking Sakura with her. Rather than lie the girl down, Sakura cradled her in the same hug that returned the redhead to her senses.

"We have no hope of defeating Sasuke or Naruko," Dosu said, getting everyone's attention, "I give you this in hope that it will satisfy you in place of our lives." He put a scroll case down, an Earth scroll laying half out of it. Dosu put Kin over his injured arm's shoulder, then grabbed Zaku by the collar of his shirt and dragged him away.

After about twenty minutes of rest, in which Team 9 showed up and took Lee away for field treatment, Sasuke and Naruko recovered from whatever episode they had suffered. Naruko, upon awakening, almost knocked herself out again when she noticed she was in Sakura's lap. She had literally shot up, a stream of apologies falling out of her mouth as she flung herself at a large stone. Sakura had giggled as she warned Naruko about the stone, which Naruko turned to look at it time to bang her forehead protector off it. She was definitely back to normal.

"Well..." Shikamaru said, "that was all weird even by Naruto, I mean Naruko's standards, which are extremely high. We should go before it gets more troublesome around here." Team 10 made their exit.

"What happened while I was out?" Naruko asked.

"You don't remember?" Sakura asked. She had also asked Sasuke if he remembered. He claimed he could, but it was hazy and it felt like he hadn't been in control of himself.

"I remember..." she said in shame, "but I was talking about this!" She held out her hands, showing the now clean and well manicured nails. They even had pale red paint on them. "They weren't like this before... Oh no! Did I hurt somebody else?"

Sakura bonked her on the head. "That was Ino-pig. She said something about your nails being an insult to women, then cleaned, cut and painted them while you were out." She looked at her own rough nails, wondering if she needed a bit of a cut.

"Enough girl talk. I didn't sign up for it. Besides, we have more important things to worry about" Sasuke said.

"I didn't sign up for it either!" Naruko shouted, "and how do you know what girl talk is? I still don't know what it is and I'm a girl!"

Sakura wanted to hear of Sasuke's worry. "Is this about the scrolls?"

Sasuke nodded. "Our original scroll is gone and we got this scroll from Team Dosu." He held up the Earth scroll. "We need to get a Heaven scroll and then head for the tower."

"And because she burned our scroll up, that means there is one less team going through..." Sakura wished she had been able to save the scroll. With their old scroll and Team Dosu's scroll, they would have been able to head for the tower.

"It might be worse than that," Sasuke said, "for all we know, more than one scroll has been destroyed." He let the two girls process this before he spoke again. "We should make a camp and rest." Sakura agreed right away, she was exhausted after staying up all night and then fighting. Naruko silently agreed, neither of her teammates noticing her wince as she moved.

_[Day Four, 3pm]_

Sakura was fishing for something to eat that wouldn't eat them back while Naruko was contemplating something. Sasuke had gone scouting and gathering, saying fish wasn't enough to replenish their strength.

Ziiiiiiip.

Sakura looked over just as Naruko was about to remove her dress. She saw what bothered her from before and grabbed the girl, holding her tightly. "S-S-S-Sakura-chan!" Naruko stammered as she turned bright red.

"I need to talk to you about...that," Sakura was blushing now, sending the wrong signals to Naruko.

"W-what is it?" Naruko asked with more than a little hope in her voice. Could Sakura be talking about what Naruko was thinking about? She discreetly pinched herself, thinking the the last two days had been a dream. It wasn't a dream! She looked down at the pink haired girl.

"You can't keep that up," Sakura's blush started travelling down her neck, then she pointed to Naruko's chest, "going...c-c-commando"

Naruko looked down at her chest, wondering what Sakura meant. What was missing? A shirt? Suddenly, she remembered that time when she had been crawling around in the air ducts at school, attempting to sneak into the teacher's lounge to set up a prank. The ducts had disagreed with the extra weight and broke, dumping the then boy into a classroom. When she managed to look up, she remembered a very pissed off Ino standing there, fists ready for a beat down. She remembered that all the girls had been in their underwear with Ino and Hinata wearing something on their chests none of the others were wearing. What was that called again? Kakashi-sensei had mentioned it once when trying to teach Naruko about women using his Icha Icha novels. Oh yeah! It was a bra.

Naruko felt like she was half idiot, half moron now. Girls were supposed to wear two pieces of underwear. She had made the awkward transition to girl's underwear, just tight underwear that didn't cover nearly as much as boy's underwear, with some trouble. (It kept going where it wasn't supposed to!) She had been so nervous that she didn't realize the shop keeper was trying to help her out with a full set.

Naruko didn't want to do that again, so she had to find a way to avoid going back. Hmm. IDEA! "Sakura-chan! Can you lend me yours?"

Sakura's blush came back with a vengeance, making her neck and face the same color as her dress. "N-No!" she shouted/stuttered as she turned away quickly. Naruko felt bad. Maybe girls didn't share underwear, even when they wore the same size and brand. As Shikamaru said; girls are troublesome.

Sakura was blushing hard, but it was embarrassment that fuelled this blush. She couldn't admit it. She couldn't and wouldn't share her underwear with Naruko because she dreaded hearing the redhead say that they were too tight, especially the bra. Naruko had to at least be a B-cup while Sakura was an (A)A-cup. She would have to round up Ino later to take the redhead to a store to get what she needed.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruko called over, having done up her dress again.

"What?" Sakura turned to see the redhead holding their Earth scroll up.

"How are we going to get another scroll?" Naruko asked, "there's less than a day left." Sakura started thinking. It was true that at least one Heaven scroll had been destroyed. For all they knew, all the scroll pairs had been gathered and they were just wasting their time. "I have an idea," Naruko dumped a ton of scrolls on the ground. "I always carry lots of scrolls with me, lots of them blank. All we need to do is make one of them look like a Heaven scroll."

Sakura thought it was brilliant, but then it hit her. "We don't know what is written in the scrolls."

Naruko frowned. She had thought it was like the first test, where just having the scroll meant it was a pass. She never thought that something was actually written inside. "Then we just write what we need on the inside."

Sakura sighed. "It is most likely some kind of complicated ninja code."

"Then we open this Earth scroll and figure out what is probably on the Heaven scroll." Naruko was getting more and more annoyed now.

Sakura thought for a few moments. "But what if it is a different code in each scroll."

Naruko grumbled. Seems this was a useless idea. She gathered up her scrolls and put them away. Then stared angrily at the Earth scroll. "How can we get a Heaven scroll..."

"I may be able to help there."

Both girls turned around to see Kabuto walking up to them. "I must say that I am glad that you didn't open that scroll."

Naruko tilted her head slightly. "Why is that?"

"Because you would have wound up like those Iwa genin I passed about twenty minutes ago; knocked out on your back." Kabuto smirked at the amusing memory. The girls didn't find it so amusing. "I heard that you needed a scroll," the grey haired teen said, "I can help you get one."

"Thanks for the help," Sasuke said as he appeared behind Kabuto and placed a kunai at his throat, "put the Heaven scroll down and you can walk away."

"Now Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said in a calm tone as he held his hands up, "what makes you think that my team would trust me, the information gatherer, with something as important as the scrolls?"

Sasuke grunted, then removed the blade. "You said you could help us get a scroll..How?"

"Simple, we go to the area near the tower," Kabuto said as he straightened out his glasses.

"Why would we go there and how does that get us a scroll?" Naruko asked.

"Follow me and I'll explain on the way," the grey haired genin said as he and Team 7 went towards the center of the forest. He explained that there were people who gathered spare scrolls, sort of like trophies. They normally waited near the tower and ambushed others to steal their scrolls even if they already have the scrolls they need. All Team 7 needed to do was ambush an ambush.

Sadly, the moment they landed where they were going to plan their next move, ninja literally started coming out of the wood work. They were all Ame-nin.

"Were there this many Ame genin in the exams?" Sakura asked.

Naruko didn't wait for anyone to explain and rushed at one, delivering a wild punch to the ninja. Said ninja sidestepped the blow as his allies threw kunai at her, hitting the off balance kunoichi. She jumped back in time to avoid getting fatally injured, but her left arm was covered in cuts.

"Naruko!" Sakura shouted as she watched blood drip off the girl's scarlet nails.

"Don't do anything rash!" Sasuke commanded, "they are all bunshin!"

Kabuto nodded. "Sasuke-kun is right. The method used by these ninja is to wear down their opponents with hidden strikes that line up with the illusions to deal damage. Once we are worn out. They will come out and finish us off."

Naruko growled angrily. Then started her best to defend herself against real weapons and illusions alike, as did the others. After fifteen minutes, the four Konoha genin were tapped out and ready to fall over. The last of Naruko's shadow clones bursting apart.

"Time to end this," a young man said as he came out of the bushes. He was dressed like the other Ame genin that Sasuke had killed earlier, probably a standard outfit, but this one had pouches on both thighs as well as two on his belt. Two more Ame-nin stepped out, one being tall and thin while the other was short and fat. "Now, die loudly and make sure to keep the scroll clean," gas mask hissed out.

"That was a good plan, Naruko-san," Kabuto said as he stepped out from behind the Ame-nin. Sasuke stepped out as well, barely a mark on him. Sakura came out of the bushes as well. "Thanks for distracting them, Naruko."

"How?" average Ame genin shouted.

The genin next to Naruko were covered in a swirl of smoke, then turned out to be three shadow clones. "During the fight, I switched out the others with henged Kage Bunshin," she growled, "you aren't the only ones who can lay down a quick ambush." She then fell to her knees.

"Naruko, you used up lots of your chakra and you haven't been able to replenish it properly. Take a break while I finish them off," Sasuke pointed out.

Before anyone could react, Naruko rushed forward and punched one of the Ame-nin, knocking him into the others and sending them sliding away a small distance along the slick forest floor. "I'm tired of you hogging the spotlight!" Naruko snapped.

"Dammit!" Tall snapped. He formed a hand seal. **"Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu!"** he shouted as twenty clones appeared.

Naruko glared at the clones. "Kage Bunshin?"

Kabuto shook his head. "No, just regular bunshin."

"How are we going to beat them all?" Sakura asked.

"Like this!" Naruko yelled as she charged forward and swiped at one, only to fall through. She rebalanced herself, then went through another with a jumping side kick. "Dammit!" she roared as she tried to strike at one's legs. She didn't see the the Ame-nin standing over her with a kunai. Kabuto tackled her out of the way, but took a blow in his leg.

_'Damn this bite!'_ Sasuke thought. Every time he tried to mold too much chakra, the bite throbbed and burned. Sadly, using the Sharingan was past this safe point. _'Just a second,'_ he thought as he activated his Sharingan and looked at the Ame-nin. All he saw was Naruko, Kabuto and chakra. Sasuke gasped in pain, "Don't waste your time! They are all clones!" He almost fell over from the pain.

Sakura saw those marks spreading from his bite again and realized what was happening. "Sasuke-kun! Stop using the Sharingan!" she cried as she moved to help alleviate his pain as well as stop the mark from spreading.

While Sasuke and Sakura had their own little drama over his bite wound, Naruko felt that strange cool tingling sensation where she had been bitten by that creepy woman. It felt strange, but it didn't hurt. What was even stranger was what had been happening since she had been bitten. Her senses were sharper and her chakra control was improving. There was also something else. That strange heat that she felt back in Wave, that hot chakra. It seemed she could almost feel it again at times.

Kabuto saw a clone move to attack Narko, then saw one of the ninja rise from the ground with a kunai in hand. "Naruko!" he called out, "they are underground! They come up to attack with the clones!" Naruko saw the ninja and jumped out of the way of the kunai, then delivered a sharp kick to his head. The ninja flew out of the ground and slid away, completely knocked out. Another rose up before Kabuto and sliced him across the face. For some odd reason, he stood completely still long enough for Sasuke to knock him out. The third one didn't reappear, seeming to have retreated. Upon searching the two ninja, they found a Heaven scroll as well as an Earth scroll.

"We did it!" Naruko cheered.

"Kabuto-san!"

The genin turned to see Kabuto's teammates walk up. "Guess it is time for me to get going," Kabuto said as he put his glasses back on, "I'll see you at the tower." Kabuto and his team left.

"Let's get to the tower!" Sakura shouted. She was worried about Sasuke and Naruko's bites.

_[Day 5, Tower Arena]_

Team 7 walked into line to stand before the Hokage, the proctors and the Jōnin sensei of each participating team.

"Congratulations on making it here," the Hokage said, "now I will explain the next part of the exam."

**A/N~**

Oh! I am going to have sooooo much fun with that shopping trip. (Grins wickedly) Next up is the prelims. I am not going to write about unaltered battles other than the important fights. Also expect a bit of a switch up for the main tournament. Sasugay is going to get screwed and not in the way Hebi-homo wants.

**chm01:** I HATE that word! This is 'on hold,' not hiatus. Hiatus is when the person stops all together. No activity. DEATH!. On hold is when you halt something due to numerous reasons. Like I said, planning for this fic is spotty and limited. What would you prefer: me working on both fics and it taking forever and a day to do, or me finishing off Part I for the other one and focusing solely on this one so I can write and plan? Fact is, I'm almost done Part I for KTD.

**SuperNeos2:** I thought so as well.

**Anonymous:** Most people who knew me from before thought I died when they met me again. That's how little I stand out and how often I make contact with people.

And why do people keep wanting me to go to Hell? The food sucks, service bites and the lines haven't moved since Creation. Anyways, holding a kunai to my throat in Hell would be pointless since Hell is eternal torture. Knowing how things go down there, they would lock you in a soundproof box while I told everyone else in Hell the story.

If you insist on hunting me down, here's a few tips:

My eyes can change color slightly.

I have three hair colors, thought two are barely noticeable.

Despite the above traits, I can easily vanish into a crowd if I will it.

I'm nocturnal.

I have light sensitivity, mostly to sunlight and florescent lights.

I'm Sanguine.

Now don't go lumping me together with those emo fakers you see on TV talk shows. Sleeping in a coffin, dressing in Euro goth and acting like some supernatural monster of the night. Those are nothing more than freaks who want to be even creepier than before. One look at me and you wouldn't know I had a taste for blood. I don't even follow the religion of other sanguine, I just have a sip of blood every once in a while.

**ShadowCub:** Of course.

**Bilingualkyuubi:** I'm going to fix the chapter up later to smooth it out a bit. I'll admit that I was dead on my keyboard when I wrote the chapter, so there will be errors in it.

**God Emperor of GAR-halla:** Trolling? Hmm. Don't spoil it for me, I've barely read anything in Part II. Too focused on writing my fics to the end of part I.

**Dinian:** I didn't intend to make a twist there. It is a plot device for later, which is the real twist. What you saw last chapter was just me taking hold of the thread. When I twist, I TWIST!

**Sky Zephyrus:** Berserk Naruko: homicidal check. Sakura and Ino stopping her: check for Sakura. Beating Sasuke to a pulp: no check yet. Beating Team Dosu: sort of check.

**The Dark End:** Of course. What else could beat a yuri harem other than a larger yuri harem? Maybe I should add Hinata to the mix? The three sexiest girls in Konoha all in one bed with Naruko... (nose explodes in a red geyser. Jiraiya gives thumbs up of approval)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the cast.**

Chapter 5: Elimination

The only highlight of the speech from the Hokage was learning that the Chūnin Selection Exams were a replacement for open war between the Elemental Nations' hidden shinobi villages. Also learning that you could become chūnin if you showed the appropriate skills even when losing in the first match of the main tournament. Naruko remembered most of what Iruka-sensei had said about chūnin and what was expected of them. Sadly, Naruko only had a high ranked jutsu and large chakra reserves, nothing else befitting of the rank. Add to that the village and council's hatred for her, that meant her chances of becoming a chūnin were about as good as Shikamaru joining Lee and Guy's energetic Flames of Youth brigade or Sasuke showing interest in a female.

Before the Hokage could continue, a man shunshined in front of the genin. "Hokage-sama, if I may," the man said before being caught up in a coughing fit. The Hokage nodded. "I am Gekkō Hayate, proctor for the third and final stage of the Chūnin Selection Exams," he stopped to cough a few times, "we will be holding a short preliminary tournament here and now."

"What?" Kiba barked, "why?"

Hayate looked upwards, as if a cloud was about to prescribe him something for that cough of his. "The first two parts of the exam were, probably, too easy. Quite simply, there are too many examinees left, so we need to cut your numbers down slightly."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because we can't have a long, drawn out tournament," Hayate explained, "it would be tedious to the visiting Daimyo, Kage and various civilians here to see the tournament." He waited for a few moments. "If there is anyone who feels that they cannot continue, you may forfeit. It is now every ninja for themselves, so you don't need to worry about your team."

_'Shows how much you know about my team,'_ Shikamaru thought as he imagined how Ino would yell if he walked out of the room.

"I quit," Kabuto said.

"Why?" Naruko asked.

Kabuto smiled at her kindly. "The damage I took from that Oto-nin in the first test as well as the wounds I received from the Ame-nin are taking a lot out of me. I wouldn't last a single round, so I'll quit while I can still raise my arm." He then spoke with his team, one of them sounding very angry about Kabuto forfeiting. After Hayate confirmed his name and removed him from the list, he continued waiting.

Sasuke flinched as the mark started to throb. Sakura had taken a good look at it while they were coming into the tower and told him that it sort of looked like his sharingan, but it had three tomoe as opposed to Sasuke's incomplete sharingan with its two tomoe. It also didn't have a ring.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura mumbled, "you should quit and have Kakashi-sensei or someone look at that mark."

"No," he stated firmly.

"B-but I'm worried about you. You haven't been the same since you got it and it obviously hurts..." she said.

He grabbed her wrist too tightly. "Stay out of my business!" He then winced slightly. "I am not here to be promoted to chūnin or anything. I am an avenger. This is a test to see if I have grown stronger at all since I became a genin." He looked around as he clutched the mark on his neck. "There are a lot of strong ninja here. I need to see where I place among them, if I place amongst them at all."

Naruko growled and grabbed his arm, making him release Sakura. "You pig headed idiot. Sakura-chan is worried about you and all you care about is a good fight? You are really starting to p-"

Sasuke looked dead in her eyes. "You are one of those strong ninja I want to fight." He then smirked. "Ever since Wave, I realized that in missions, just like jutsu, you only shine when it gets really difficult. You are probably the only person in the world who completed an A-rank mission without cowering behind your Jōnin sensei." Sasuke remembered that he had been shaking like a leaf and ready to run when Naruko, still henged at the time, charged Zabuza and came up with a plan to free Kakashi. Had it been anyone other than Naruko in her place, Team 7 would be dead in that clearing while Wave was slowly picked apart by that vulture-like bastard Gato.

Hayate realized that nobody else was going to quit. "Now that we have covered that, we will announce the first match," he pointed to an electronic board, "the names of the two people for this match will be seen there, the rest will have to wait in the stands."

The board flashed on. Its displays saying: Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Yoroi. Everyone filed out of the battleground. Kakashi stopped and said something to Sasuke before he left.

The fight seemed quite one-sided at first, Sasuke dominating Kabuto's teammate. It wasn't until Sasuke locked up Yoroi's arm that things changed. All Yoroi did was grab him and Sasuke released him. It wasn't until this happened again that Naruko figured that the masked ninja was doing something to Sasuke while grabbing him. Sasuke put some distance between himself and Yoroi, then stayed there.

Naruko was getting annoyed. Sasuke wasn't some weak loser. He was Sakura's favourite person and a superior ninja, at least he was in Sakura's eyes anyways. Naruko would admit that he was strong, but his strength wasn't all in his sharingan. "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted, "stop dragging your feet and kick his ass!"

Hearing Naruko of all people telling him to hurry up got Sasuke moving again. He remembered something, or at least all of it that he had seen Kakashi use once. Yoroi ran forward, that strange chakra draining ability most likely on. Sasuke wouldn't activate his sharingan. That stupid seal on his neck would just make it hurt too much to do anything but lose. He could lose to this nobody, this chakra mosquito. He needed to at least fight Lee and Naruko.

Right when it seemed Sasuke was trapped, he ducked down and drove a hard straight kick into Yoroi's jaw, sending the masked ninja upwards. He then jumped after him, fitting into the larger genin's shadow completely. "I don't know what comes next, but this is my version!" Sasuke stated. Right as he began to move, the curse seal on his neck started acting up again. It made no sense since Sasuke wasn't using any chakra. Then it hit him, it also reacted to lack of chakra. So now he couldn't use his sharingan or use too many jutsu. Just great.

The burning was messing everything up. He couldn't move and he knew that the technique would fall apart if he didn't get moving. Memories of his experiences with his team, recent and old, as well as all the people he had recently met flashed through his mind. He needed to get passed this. The burning receded as the seal was forced back.

The assembled ninja watched as Sasuke forced the seal back, one ninja astonished that Sasuke didn't rely on the seal. The Uchiha then swung a kick at Yoroi's hip, which was too light to be any use. He then chained a second strike on a spot slightly higher up, then another one. It finally hit everyone what he was doing just before the final blow landed; he was using his kicks to position himself for the real attack. Sasuke spun to deliver a very fast and hard heel drop to Yoroi's chest. **"Shishi Rendan!"** he shouted as the final blow smashed his opponent into the ground hard. Sasuke recoiled from the attack and felt pain shooting through his whole body. Clearly, he was limited in how much he could use that technique. He fell back, too tired and hurt to support his own weight.

"Good work," Kakashi said as he used his leg to support Sasuke, "now let's go take care of that curse seal." He then shunshined away before the medics could even arrive. Once Yoroi was removed from the arena, the next match was announced. It was that Zaku guy and Shino. The Aburame told Zaku to forfeit, but the arrogant teen didn't listen. In the end, Zaku blew one of his own arms off using his air cannons after Shino commanded his bugs to block them up. With Zaku being a one trick horse, one arm blown clean off and the other with a gaping hole in it, all Shino had to do was strike him once and it was over.

The next fight was about to be announced when Team 7's resident open pervert reappeared with his classic, "Yo!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, "how is Sasuke-kun?"

"He's fine and resting," the Jōnin said, not mentioning his run in with Orochimaru or the fact that both Naruko and Sasuke had ANBU guards near them while in Konoha. Of course, Naruko's ANBU guards were hand picked by the Hokage while Sasuke just had a few that Kakashi had managed to find on his way here. His news calmed the pink haired girl down.

The next fight was announced. It was that Suna-nin dressed up in cat pyjamas, Kankuro, against Kabuto's other teammate, Misumi. The fight looked to be another quick one because of Misumi's ability to stretch his body like rubber, but just when it seemed he won by breaking Kankuro's neck, it turned out that he was a doll and the real Kankuro was the bundle. Kankuro ended the match by breaking ever bone in Misumi's body other than his neck and skull.

"Hey!" Naruko shouted, "isn't that cheating?"

Kakashi shook his head. "It is a tool, not another person. He obviously is one of Suna's puppeteer ninja. Think of that puppet like Kiba's puppy or Shino's bugs." Naruko grumbled. She watched as the badly wounded ninja was taken away. Now Kabuto's whole team was gone.

CLICK!

She looked up and saw the next match. Yamanaka Ino VS Haruno Sakura. _'Uh oh,'_ Naruko thought as she started to sweat, _'this could get ugly...'_ Sakura and Ino made their way down to the battleground, their killing intent, while quite weak, was easily detectable.

"Watch this fight Naruko," Kakashi commanded as he stepped forward and held the railing while uncovering his sharingan, "it only happens a few times in one's life."

"W-what?" she asked.

"A cat fight!" Kakashi said in all seriousness. Naruko realized that he was still teaching her the joys a man could experience in his life despite her being a girl now. Ah, whatever. Naruko still thought like a guy. _'I wonder what it would be like with mud?'_ she thought, then banged her head into the rail lightly. _'I'm going to wind up like Kakashi-sensei!'_

When they got into position, Sakura took off her forehead protector, shocking everyone. The two then exchanged heated words, almost all of them relating to Sasuke. Poor Naruko felt like crawling into a corner and vanishing. After a few words, Ino removed her own forehead protector, then both put them on again the way that was considered standard. Hayate signalled the start of the match.

Sakura rushed forward, forming two bunshin on either side of her. Just when Ino looked like she was going to ignore the bunshin, since they couldn't do anything, Sakura used the tree climbing exercise to boost her speed, allowing her to deliver a heavy punch to Ino's face. After Kakashi explained Sakura's perfect chakra control, and putting Naruko into a slightly deeper depression by saying Sakura was better than her, the girls charged at each other again. Both stopped the others punch with their free hand. They jumped back and both threw shuriken, only to have them hit each other.

Without warning, Sakura pulled out a kunai and sliced her long hair off, letting it blow away in the wind as she dropped the kunai. "It was getting in the way," she stated before going after Ino again. Both girls struck each other and both were knocked quite a distance from each other. They started yelling at each other again, Sakura ending the exchange by insulting Ino's skills and long hair. Ino became enraged and responded by mimicking Sakura's earlier action and sliced her pony tail off with a kunai. Ino threw her hair in between them. Ino then started the process of using her family jutsu.

"Kakashi-sensei... Isn't Ino's jutsu too slow to be used in battle?" Naruko asked.

Kakashi held his chin. "I don't know too much about it, but I do believe it is not a technique one can use too easily in battle."

Sakura also pointed out the weakness to her former friend's jutsu: its lack of speed. Ino kept going with it though. Sakura went to move. Ino initiated the jutsu and both girls stopped after Sakura moved a foot over. It seemed that Ino had screwed up, but Ino revealed that she had used her discarded hair as a bastardized ninja wire. With Sakura trapped, Ino restarted her jutsu. **"Shintenshin no Jutsu,"** Ino said as her body slumped to the ground.

Sakura chuckled a bit. "Proctor," she called to the coughing man, catching his attention, "I, Haruno Sakura, am fo-"

Naruko knew what was happening and she would not allow it to happen. "What the hell is wrong with you Sakura-chan! Don't let that Sasuke baka beat you!"

Ino looked over at Naruko, mild annoyance on her face. "Like I was saying, I fo-"

"_**To make that idiot worry about me... I'm not that weak."**_

_'What?'_ Ino thought. Sakura's consciousness should be shut down right now.

Sakura, or at least an image like her, appeared and shoved Ino aside. _**"What are you doing in here Ino-pig!"**_ the image, which had 'Inner Sakura' written on its forehead, yelled as it grew larger and grabbed Ino. _**"This is my head! No pork allowed! Get out!"**_ Seeing that she didn't have the chakra to subdue another Sakura, she cancelled the jutsu and returned to her own body.

"T-two consciousnesses?" Ino asked, "what is the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Sakura panted, "just a survival mechanism."

Both girls knew they were tapped out. They would end it with a single strike. Both ran forwards and punched the other over the head hard enough to knock their forehead protectors off. When both girls hit the ground, Hayate just looked at them and announced a draw. Their respective jōnin sensei picked them up and returned to the gallery. Naruko was told to not worry about the girls and go watch the next match.

This time, the Suna kunoichi, Temari, was facing off against Lee's teammate, Tenten. Right after the fight started, it became completely one-sided. Temari either blocked or blew away Tenten's numerous weapons with wind. She became bored eventually and tossed the younger girl into the air with a small tornado, then held her fan out so Tenten landed on it back first.

"Winner, Temari!" Hayate announced. Temari flung Tenten towards one of the walls, but Lee caught her. After angering Lee, he tried to strike at her with his Konoha Senpū, but the kunoichi blocked it with ease. Guy went to the battleground to retrieve his genin, telling the Suna-nin that Lee was stronger than they thought.

"Don't lose to them Naruko!" Sakura shouted, having recovered during the Temari/Tenten slaughter.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruko asked, a little scared, "did Ino hit your head too hard?"

"I'm fine, it is you who should be worrying," Sakura said, "you need to make it to the end to face Sasuke-kun after all." Once again, Naruko felt like hiding. "Also...thanks for earlier," Sakura said softly, "if it weren't for you, I would have lost to Ino."

Naruko merely stared at her. "You got a point there." Sakura wanted to smash Naruko for that. Here she was being nice to her and the redhead goes and makes her angry again.

The next fight was the Oto kunoichi, Kin, versus Konoha's resident slacker prince, Shikamaru. The fight was unimpressive. Shikamaru used her own wire trick against her to capture her with his shadow jutsu. He then threw a shuriken, as did Kin. When both leaned back to avoid the attack, Kin smashed her head into the wall and was knocked out. Shikamaru was announced as the winner. _'That was so boring and he still looked cool,'_ Naruko thought.

The display announced the next round. Uzumaki Naruko K. VS Inuzuka Kiba.

"Looks like we got lucky!" Kiba shouted, "this is an easy win."

"Hey!" the redhead shouted, "I'm not a weakling!"

"You're right," Kiba admitted, "you are a dobe and the dead last idiot of our class. A total failure. It was a mistake that you even passed."

Naruko growled and jumped over the rail, falling to the ground in a feral crouch. Her hair actually stood on end slightly as she walked up to her starting position. "I'll beat you so badly that Akamaru will need to sniff you to recognize you!" she declared.

Kiba scoffed and put Akamaru down, telling him that he didn't need to interfere in this battle. The puppy whined a bit, now catching Naruko's scent. The puppy had a bad feeling about this, but listened to Kiba.

"Start!" Hayate shouted.

With that, Kiba shot forward and punched at Naruko's face. He connected with air while Naruko's open hand caught his face. "What?" he managed before the girl shoved forward with her hand, sending him skidding back to Akamaru. Kiba felt the place where her hand had gripped his head from the pain of where her fingers had pressed into his skull. He didn't notice it before, but she was slightly taller than him and her legs were longer than his, giving her greater reach. He noted her feral, crouched stance. _'That little bitch! She's copying the Inuzuka style!'_ He rushed forward again, this time feinting with his right fist while getting an uppercut ready. She dodged the first blow, then partially blocked the uppercut. With her in the air, he knew he should save her the embarrassment of a drawn out fight. He jumped at her, rotating as he became a furious drill of taijutsu. **"****Tsūga****!"** he shouted as he drilled into the redhead's stomach. He landed and looked at the proctor, wondering why the match wasn't called.

He got his answer when two Naruko's struck from either side, hitting him with sweeping hand strikes that lightly spun him. _'Dammit! She is fighting like that demon cat!'_ he thought as he remembered his last run-in with Tora. It did seem like Naruko was trying to scratch him, but lacked the claws to do so. He struck one down while Akamaru bit the arm of the other, both proving to be shadow clones. The real one struck him from behind by landing on his shoulders, then vaulting off him, sending him sprawling into the dirt to skid on his face.

In the stands, Sakura was speechless at what was happening on the arena floor. Naruko was fighting very well, seemingly playing with the Inuzuka. Then again, Kiba was holding back. He had yet to use his family's jutsu and Akamaru had only just joined in. Even so, it seemed Naruko was holding back just as much as her opponent was, maybe even more so.

Kakashi was wondering how and where Naruko learned to fight like that. It was true that the genin had often hunted him down to learn jutsu, tactics and taijutsu, but Kakashi had to ignore her or else the council would start wondering why he was teaching the kitsune anything at all. Through team training, the girl had learned tactics, but nothing else. He smiled lightly, knowing that what little he taught her had an impact. He wondered how strong his team would be had he been free to train the whole team equally. Actually, he wondered how it would be to have a team without that eyesore, Sasuke. What he wouldn't do to send that unstable brat to a psych ward... Actually, screw the crazy house, just bury the little shit alive.

"That's it!" Kiba shouted, angry that he had been battered around. It was like fighting his sister. **"Shikyaku no Jutsu!"** he growled as he fell to all fours, his nails becoming claws and his appearance becoming even more feral. He was going to trash her. He rushed at her, then struck at her face again. Naruko spun around from the impact, then slammed her elbow into his temple, staggering him.

_'Why? Why can't I knock this loser out?'_ Kiba thought as he felt a deep, burning anger. He wasn't the best in the class, but he was better than this grade A loser. Then he remembered the insane level of luck the idiot had. How else could she have evaded trained ninja for hours on end? It wasn't skill, it was all luck. Time to end it though. "Akamaru! Let's put her in her place!" he called out to his partner as he fed him a pill. The dog barked as it turned red, then hopped onto his back. **"Jūjin Bunshin!"** Kiba called out as Akamaru transformed into a copy of him. Now Naruko couldn't tell them apart. Kiba wouldn't take that chance though.

"**Gatsūga!"** he shouted as him and Akamaru turned into twin drills, almost pinning the girl between them. She evaded, then crouched low and waited for them to stop the attack.

"You aren't fooling anyone," she told the two, then pointed at the left one, "especially you Akamaru."

Kiba wanted to grin. The dobe had pointed to him and called him Akamaru. Shows how good she was. The two rushed forward again, making it look like another Gatsūga was coming. At the last moment, the two struck with punches to her stomach, knocking her down. Kiba jumped onto her, pinning her legs with his and her wrists with his left arm. "Give up," he ordered. He had no time for this girl. He wanted to face strong opponents, not some loser.

"You first," Naruko shot back as she drove her knee into his groin, or almost did anyway. His grip loosened enough and she slammed her forehead protector into his nose, breaking it. She then shoved him away with her legs.

Kiba stood up as Naruko got to her own feet. "Damn loser," he growled, "you only got anything done because you hid behind your sensei while the Uchiha did everything."

That was a mistake, one that Kiba would never, ever repeat again.

Kiba watched as the girl performed a bastardized version of the Shikyaku no Jutsu as she roared to the heavens, the air vibrating with her anger. Her hair became a wild mane the color of old blood, her nails became claws, her canines lengthened and her pupils became slits. She dropped to all fours and charged at Kiba with incredible speed, scratching him on his face and right shoulder. Akamaru jumped in, trying to distract the redhead so his partner could get away from her. She turned to the transformed dog and delivered a single uppercut to his jaw, making the dog spin in the air for a few moments, cancelling the transformation and knocking Akamaru out for the remainder of the fight.

_'She's faster, stronger and now has the weapons her strikes require!'_ Kiba thought as he held his wounded shoulder. He wanted to end this fight, but he knew he was now on the losing side because of her increased abilities and him losing Akamaru. He had no choice but to slip into her defences and deliver a point blank Tsūga with all he had left. With luck, the blow would be enough to knock her out. If it failed, she would probably knock him out with her next attack. He charged the girl, hoping it would work. **"Tsūga!"** he shouted as he used his strongest solo technique at nearly point blank range.

To his horror, the girl caught him and stopped his jutsu with her bare hands. To make matters worse, four Narukos appeared around him as the real one released him and jumped back. One of them punched Kiba in the head, knocking him towards the others. While he was off balance from the first one's attack, it started. **"U!"** kick, **"zu!"**, two kicks, **"ma!"** three kicks, **"ki!"** all four kicked him up. He looked up to see Naruko spinning above him like a buzz saw. To his horror, two more Naruko buzz saws appeared. All three stopped and swung their legs down in brutal kicks. **"Naruko Rendan!"** the three shouted as their feet connected with his chest and smashed him into the ground with enough force to crack the ground and knock him out for a few hours.

The assembled ninja were frozen. Even Hayate, who barely knew Naruko, was too stunned to declare the match over. Most present had pegged Naruko as getting eliminated in her first fight, thinking her getting into the actual tournament would only happen if she didn't get picked during the prelims. Instead, she devastated her first opponent, one that was known to be quite powerful. Kurenai, Kiba's sensei, was the most surprised. She had heard a bit about Naruko from Anko, but figured most of it was just Anko's raving about a similar ninja. It also didn't help that her friend had been hitting the sake and dango pretty hard at the time either.

The Hokage, Kakashi, Sakura and Hinata were the only ones who weren't surprised all that much. Hinata had always seen the strength that Naruko possessed, knowing that it never had the chance to be seen because everyone focused on Sasuke. Sakura had been seeing what the redhead could do, and after Wave, she knew the redhead was quite powerful. Like Sasuke, Sakura learned that Naruko only did her best in real ninja missions, not those tedious excuses that made up all D-rank missions. Kakashi and the Hokage knew how and why Naruko had won. She had the speed and reflexes an Inuzuka needed a jutsu to achieve in addition to huge chakra reserves to back them up, and that was all before she shifted more towards being a true kitsune. She may have lost a lot of physical power, but she made up for this by unconsciously pushing chakra into her muscles. It also helped that she could create shadow clones to eliminate, or override, the handicap on her strength.

Hayate realized he had a duty to perform. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruko K!"

A few people, mainly civilians with ninja contacts, suddenly wondered what that K stood for and decided to try to find that out later. The redhead limped up the stairs and leaned against the railing, obviously damaged from whatever technique she had used to copy the Shikyaku. She stood next to Sakura for a total of four seconds before she slumped, then fell backwards. "Naruko!" Sakura shouted in alarm as she checked on her teammate. A loud snore was heard and Sakura felt the need to box Naruko into a coma. Several people laughed at her. Instead of killing Naruko, Sakura shook her awake to watch the matches.

_[An hour later]_

Naruko now had a hit list. That asshole Neji nearly killed Hinata during their fight. Bushy brows had his arm and leg destroyed by that sleepless freak from Suna. The good news was that Naruko had caught the attention of that fate deluded bastard Neji and Lee dealt some damage to Garra. Of course, it seemed that Lee had dealt so much damage to his own body that the medical ninja started to doubt if they could help him. Oh yeah, Dosu managed to beat Choji as well. The Akimichi was only worried about eating after getting beaten, so he was okay.

Kakashi said some things to Sakura, Naruko was too far away to hear it, but she assumed it was Sasuke again, before he left. The Hokage explained various things, such as training and getting ready for the tournament in one month.

Anko was going around with a box with slips of paper in it. Once everyone had a piece of paper, they were asked what number they had.

"Three," Dosu said.

"I got eight," Naruko grumbled.

Temari sighed. "Six."

"One," Kankuro mumbled.

"Nine," Garra stated as he used sand to shred the paper apart.

"Five," Shikamaru said, a low 'troublesome' was heard.

"Seven," Neji said.

"Two," Shino said, looking the least worn out of anyone.

"Sasuke is four then," Ibiki informed the Hokage.

The old man nodded. "Now I can tell you who you will be fighting in a month's time."

"What? Is that what the drawing was for?" Shikamaru shouted. That was probably the most animated he had been since the time he called Sakura a troublesome woman that nobody in their right mind would date. She had the lazy genius _run_ that day.

The Hokage told Ibiki to show them the match ups.

Match 1: Kankuro VS Aburame Shino

Match 2: Uchiha Sasuke VS Dosu

Match 3: Nara Shikamaru VS Temari

Match 4: Uzumaki Naruko K. VS Hyūga Neji

Gaara VS winner of Match 4

Naruko was happy. Both people she wanted to beat were matched against her. Now she needed to work some way of beating the Jūken and Garra's sand defences. The old man went on about some other stuff, but Naruko just kind of dozed while waiting for him to finish. She needed to find Kakashi-sensei so she could get some training in!

_'Finally!'_ Naruko thought as the Hokage finished his speech. "Hey Sakura-chan!" she called, "where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"Probably with Sasuke-kun at the hospital!" Sakura called down.

"Thanks!" Naruko shouted before she bolted to go find her sensei.

_[Konoha Hospital]_

"WHERE IS SASUKE'S ROOM?" Naruko boomed.

"S-Sasuke-sama isn't allowed visitors at the moment," the medic said, wondering if he could get his ears checked later. The girl could hit some very high notes. He swore his ears were bleeding.

"Naruko!" Kakashi called loud enough to be heard, "quiet in the hospital."

"Kakashi-sensei!" the redhead shouted happily, "I got a request!"

The open pervert held up a hand. "I already know that you want training and I went and found someone who would be perfect for you."

"Why can't you train me?" Naruko pouted. She didn't wait for an answer, it was always the same thing. Naruko growled, her pupils becoming slitted. "It's Sasuke again." She closed her hand tightly, actually cutting her palms with her lengthening nails. "Who is training me then?" she asked, figuring the pervert would never take the time to train her at all. It was always going to be about Sasuke. Naruko didn't expect to be chosen to advance a rank, but she at least wanted to beat the crap out of Neji and Garra.

Truthfully, it hurt Kakashi to see the girl lose all hope of being trained by him, but he had to hide it. Maybe later, he could teach her the same jutsu and speed that Sasuke was going to receive. Why the council wanted Sasuke to learn _that_ jutsu, Kakashi didn't know. It wasn't like the arrogant brat would use it for its true purpose. "I found someone much better for you than me for now."

"Who?" Naruko asked.

"That would be me."

Naruko recognized that voice. "The closet pervert!" she shouted as she pointed at Ebisu, Konohamaru's former sensei.

I was just wondering, is everyone okay with how this fic is going relationship wise? I prefer believable relationship growth, which is why there has been little to no relationship so far. According to ArinaSugarBaby, there needs to be a relationship right away or the fic is crap. I am currently writing chapter 7 out, so I can alter it a bit to make Ino go after Naruko sooner than I wanted to.

My question is: do you guys want the NaruIno to start when I wanted it to start, around the retrieval arc, or before that?

**ShadowCub:** Think of the training Naruto puts himself through. 1000 pushups, 100 laps, tons of chakra molding. Plain and simple, he's a masochist. He seems to want a woman who can keep him in line, hence Sakura's presence. Also, she won't be hitting Naruko in this fic for obvious reasons. I'd like to see you hit her after what she does to Neji and Gaara.

No to Hana. Naruko is a kitsune, a fox demon. Hana is from the Inuzuka clan, a clan of trackers/hunters and tracking dogs. I know that tracking dogs are used to hunt foxes, so Naruko would have in inbred dislike for dogs.

**Chm01:** Sorry for going off that way, but I hate it when people stick broad term labels on things when it doesn't fit, all because they are ignorant or don't want to waste time with something they don't care to understand. I've spent my whole life getting cruel labels stuck on me by my sister and other people. I even suffered a mental and nervous breakdown when I was twelve due to that, and they happened at the same time too! Because of that event, I have a memory block on everything before I was twelve. If I do remember anything from before that, I get these extremely painful headaches. Now you know why I hate those broad term labels, I've lost almost half my life to them.

**Firestar001:** Eh? He isn't saying my story is horrible, he was threatening to bomb me if I STOPPED this fic. In other words, he wants his Naruko/Sakura/Ino fix so bad he is willing to commit murder-suicide to get it. I wonder if he's related to Achmed?

And I have told people off before. I remember telling one guy to write a fic himself if he thought he could do a better job than the author. To this day, he hasn't written a single thing other than troll reviews.

**Sky Zephyrus:** ...Stop reading my mind. Seriously. Do you have a transmitter in my head or something? Actually, it isn't the curse seal that brings about problems, it is Naruko herself!

And I have to ask you this: did you read the last chapter? She went all psycho on Team Dosu! I'd say that is a bit of a snag to having her powers.

**Gaara king of sand:** Uh, I guess you wanted Naruko to do all the ass kicking. I guess this chapter might have been interesting for you. Wait until later.

**Tachi Kagahara & AsterBlake333:** Updated!

**Serfius:** I also wondered why this section was empty, so I decided to do the same as Neil Armstrong and Captain James T. Kirk, boldly going where no man has gone before! Sadly, I haven't started something that cascaded amongst other writers.

**tehedward:** Hmm. I've noticed that about some fics. Truth be told, Hinata is so timid that I doubt she could take center stage at all. Since she takes center stage in those fics, that means that she is being written OOC. I'm also not good at writing characters like her, so her presence would mostly be mentioned in the background if she was part of the harem.

As for giving her a harem, nobody fits her. And don't point at dog boy or Gaara. I highly doubt that Hiashi would allow Hinata and Kiba to hook up. Hell, I bet he would have fought tooth and nail with the Hokage to move her to a different team if he gave a damn about her before the chūnin exams. As for Gaara...no, that's just wrong. One has pearl eyes and the other has seemingly unblinking eyes with dark marks around them, not a good combo. And if you mention making her a lesbian also (growls throatily at the thought of the shy Hyūga girl with a hot woman, preferably Anko or Kurenai) I already planned that for something else I'm writing. And no, she doesn't hook up with either of the above mentioned ladies in spite of how blood spurtingly awesome it would be.

Ino and Sakura would be dominant girls, the alpha females (not counting Naruko) so they would easily override the shy, timid Hinata. While on the subject of Hinata, that shyness, timidness and her tendency to imitate possums and tomatoes whenever Naruto shows the slightest interest in her is the main reason why I don't think there will ever be NaruHina in canon. Hell, I honestly believe Naruto will die along with Sasuke, so there will be no Naru/anybody!

Either way, it was only an idea I've been gnawing on since Hinata is one of two girls who 'react' to Naruko during a later event. I don't have to make her act on it at a later date.

Naruko's curse seal...I told you I have plans for Pedo-snake's love bite. I will reveal next chapter, which is also the last completed chapter I have right now. I'm going to work on some more since I'm almost done with KTD's last canon arc. I think I'll work on the OC arc, the time-skip filler arc, while I write this. I think it would only be three or four chapters anyway, so it should work out.

**Karibanu:** Hmm, hard to react when you are in blissful coma. I guess I'll forget about adding Hinata to the harem. I got another (serious) fic that involves NaruSakuHina anyways. And before you say all that again, I am making it so they have been friends for years in that fic, so no fainting. There will be finger poking, stuttering and trying to go from porcelain white to blood red in it though.

**Dinian:** And Naruto isn't over the top with his jinchūriki forms? She tapped into some of her power while fighting Kiba, so that explains her power at the time. Trust me, that is **NOTHING** compared to later. But overall, she will be a bit stronger than in canon, and her powers are very different, but she won't be too powerful because most of her power is inaccessible to her.

And nothing drags a girl in like raw lust! You'll see how I do it, and it has been done before! I actually got the idea from a fanfic I read a while ago. I'll try to find it so I can give kudos where they belong.

And what does d(w)b mean?

**Bilingualkyuubi:** Why do I feel like the critique was a little flame-like? And at least my plot holes aren't the glaring chasms that Kishimoto has in canon. I'm not even going to bother listing any of them since there are far too many. I could write a newsletter on those things.

I'll leave the rest alone too. Moving on.

**Anonymous:** If you had even half of those sources, kid, they would be telling you to not tempt me. I'm not exactly the most stable of people, which is part of the reason I avoid people. Now, quit with these types of reviews or I WILL cut the story for a while. It would also give me far more time to plan this one out.

**Dumbledork:** Where have I seen that name before? Must be my precognition again. Anyways, I have yet to start a chain reaction. We need more Naruko fics where she goes for girls. I can't stand that she is always going after Kakashi or Sasuke. Ugh. I think I just made myself sick writing that.

**Anikky:** Long chapters are difficult. Even with my practice on an unreleased fic (which is pretty damn good if I say so myself), my chapters are only about twelve to fifteen pages long. My goal for my fics is to try and aim for 20 pages per chapter after the time-skip.

**Pensuka:** You and me both. The plot bunny is struggling to be heard over the bunny that is telling me about 'The Greatest.' I'm proud to admit that Two Demon's is all me and not insanity driven by plot bunny. Sadly, this fic IS insanity driven.

**Spazzyninjafish:** Okay, what is with the fish part? I just had to ask.

As to my traits, my hair actually comes four colors, silver being the fourth while the others are the same as you. I have a few blonde streaks in my hair, mostly in the front. I have red on the interior of my hair, with a few silver strands saying hi, and the rest is mostly brown with dull red here and there. My eyes aren't like yours. Mine actively change depending on mood and overall health. My eyes were dark, dark blue once due to a heavy blood infection.

Now parkour is something I've always been interested in, but my fighting style has ruined my joints too much to do it. My style relies on producing high levels of torque in my joints, enough to injury myself, then strike the opponent with that level of strength. I can do it at will and I actively shift the bones around slightly using it. Of course, I'm much stronger than I appear. I can also move quickly while on all fours, so I guess it isn't all bad news. Lucky for me I have a very high pain tolerance and the ability to power through any pain I do feel.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Note: Grab your groin cup. Also, no Naruko/Hinata in this fic other than what's already in canon. There might be Naruko/Hana friendship, but only to embarrass the hell out of Kiba later.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6: Sensei swap

"Ebisu is a closet pervert?" Kakashi asked. He never would have guessed.

"He's weaker than me!" Naruko shouted, "I beat him with my Harmmm mm mumu!"

Ebisu halted the rest of the phrase that would rob him of all his standing in Konoha, if not the world, by getting the girl in a modified sleeper hold. "Keep quiet about that and I will treat you to as much ramen as you want later," Ebisu whispered. Naruko nodded, still angry. She would clean him out and then some because she was starving!

Ebisu went to say something, but suddenly slumped over.

"I cannot allow such a bold pervert to train Naruko-san."

Kakashi and Naruko turned to see what took out the pervert and found Haku standing there, a leaf forehead protector holding back his hair. "Haku! It's been a long time," Naruko happily cheered. Haku was one of the few people that Naruko could identify with. Both had been viewed as something they weren't as well as both having been persecuted for something that they were and had no control over. Haku didn't choose to be born with his Kekkai Genkai, just like Naruko didn't choose to be born a bijū, nor was she evil.

"Zabuza-san told me to take care of you and that is what I intend to do," Haku said, "I noticed you had a lot of trouble with chakra control, we can start with that." The two walked away, Ebisu forgotten as the needles kept him unconscious. Kakashi thought about it for a few minutes, then decided it was for the best to leave the man like that. Nobody noticed Kakashi smirk as he left, mainly due to his ever present mask. _'My plan worked perfectly.'_

Sadly, it wasn't until four minutes later that the needles were removed from Ebisu by a kind nurse, who he promptly fell for.

_[Hot springs]_

Naruko was staring through the hole in the wooden fence at the women who were bathing. Even though she was a girl herself, she still enjoyed peeking on women. While in the baths, she felt sleepy and was too self-conscious about her own body to look around at others. Like this, she could enjoy herself without worry. If she had any tails, they would be swaying around at hyper speed!

"Naruko-san," Haku deadpanned, "we are here for training."

Naruko wanted to say it was part of her training, but she needed real training to take on both Gaara and that Hyūga prick. She could always go and peek on the girls, but she probably only had this one chance to beat some sense into Neji and get back at that Gaara guy. Those two struck her as the types who would become chūnin right away, taking them out of her reach forever. She already knew that, no matter what, she wouldn't become a chūnin because of the village's dislike of her. The least she could do was make a pair of strong fighters who became chūnin look stupid for being beaten to a pulp by a genin who didn't get promoted.

"First thing we will do is water walking," Haku said as he stepped onto the spring and walked into the center of it, "it is a modified form of tree climbing. Since water is a surface that always changes, it is harder to perform." The black haired boy then explained how to do it. Naruko grinned and gathered her chakra, then stepped on the water.

SPLASH!

"HOT!" Naruko howled as she scrambled out of the water. She glared at the water, then tried again. Over and over, she tried and kept getting drenched. Luckily, she seemed to be getting the hang of it a bit. On her latest scramble back to the shore, she pulled off her dress. She was wearing her tight black shorts and a black, tight vest type of thing that Anko had handed her, saying Naruko needed to wear something unless she wanted to win by distraction. Naruko highly doubted that Neji or Gaara would care if she stripped naked during their fights, so she knew she couldn't count on winning via them taking the crimson express to Perv Town, population: Ebisu, Sandaime Hokage and Iruka. (Maybe Kakashi-sensei too.)

Naruko was on the water and doing quite well when she heard a perverted giggle, causing her to fall into the water again. A man with long white hair was at Naruko's favourite peeping hole, giggling as he watched the women bathe. Haku wanted to deal with the man, but the feel of the man's chakra was stopping him from attacking. Naruko didn't feel it, probably because she had a lot of chakra, and her control of it so poor that it blocked up her tenketsu. She ran at him and jumped, delivering a kick that was too high to hit the pervert.

"HA!" said pervert cheered as he watched the redhead fly over him, "you missed me!"

Naruko's foot hit a board that was in front of the white haired man. The board flipped over on the pole in the center of the fence and the other end slammed into the man's groin with a dull thud that couldn't have been wood. Said pervert's mouth shot wide open in a silent scream as he crumpled, gripping his smashed groin as he writhed in pain. Naruko stood over him. "This is my spot," she warned. The man nodded as much as he could, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

Fifteen minutes later, the old pervert was sitting on a rock. "I hope you're happy," he grumbled, "because of you, my research is ruined!"

"That was peeping," Naruko growled.

"Same thing. I needed that experience to help me with my writing," the man sighed, then winced as he shifted the wrong way.

"Who are you?" Naruko asked.

The old man smiled as he went through a few hand seals, a large frog appearing behind him. The old guy jumped on it, assuming a weird stance, as did the frog. "I am Myōbokuzan's master sennin. Jiraiya the Toad Sage!" the old creep shouted. Okay, so it was a toad that he was standing on.

"Lame," Naruko deadpanned.

Jiraiya made the toad disappear. He landed with a smirk. "If that doesn't impress you, then my writing skill will," he said as he pulled out a very familiar book. Naruko gasped as she pointed at the book. "I see it's popular here too," Jiraiya mused to himself.

"That is the dirty novel that Kakashi-sensei won't let me read!" Naruko shouted. Haku made a mental note to find Hatake-san later and 'discuss' his willingness to corrupt his students.

"Like a mole hill brat like you could appreciate my novels," the white haired Sannin said as he turned to go back to peeping at bathing women.

"Stop doing that you pervert!" she shouted.

The man turned around. "I am not a pervert!"

"What are you then?" the redhead growled.

"A **SUPER** pervert!" Jiraiya proclaimed proudly as he did some weird clutching motions with his hands.

Naruko chose to not say anything about that. "You interrupted my training," she growled, "now you have to help me with it!"

Jiraiya quickly scanned the girl before him. "Come back in five years and I'll consider training you. In more ways than one." He giggled to himself.

Naruko was pissed off. "You damn Ero-Sennin!"

"Don't call me that!" he shouted in the girl's face.

"That is what you are!" she roared back, "a perverted old sage!"

Jiraiya backed off and pointed at her with both hands. "This is why I don't like brats! They don't respect their elders, can't appreciate good literature, yell a lot, disrupt everything around them and are as curvy as a two-by-four!"

Naruko's eyes narrowed. "I know how to deal with someone like you."

"Bring it on brat! Nothing you can do will change my opinion of you!" the white haired man challenged.

"**Oiroke no jutsu!"** the redhead shouted before transforming into a tall, leggy, busty redhead. As an added bonus, she was only protected by wispy smoke and stray strands of his knee length hair.

"I LIKE YOU!" the man yelled as he gave the girl two thumbs up with blood spraying from his nose. He started looking at her from all angles, critiquing her jutsu and calling her a genius. Naruko was thinking that all adults were idiots if they kept falling for this jutsu. That and she felt like she needed a shower now...

"So~" the transformed girl said in a shy, cute tone, "do you think you can help me train?"

The man nodded his head so rigorously that Naruko swore he was going to break his own neck. "Of course I'll help train you," the man said as he turned his back on her, "but on one condition..."

"What's that?" was the cute sounding question from the redhead.

"You must," he turned to reveal the perverted grin on his face, "remain like that the whole time!"

Poof!

Naruko glared at the man, pissed off at him. "Ero-sennin."

The man sighed. "Never mind then, I'll help out," he looked over to Haku, then back at Naruko, "I was here for something else, but I can help out here first."

Naruko, being the way she was, went back onto the water and promptly fell in. Jiraiya noticed something odd and beckoned her over. "I am going to check something out," he said, "first, mold some chakra."

The girl looked at him oddly, then did as she was asked. Jiraiya noted right away that the fragmented remains of a seal appeared on the girl's stomach. _'No way...'_ he thought in shock as he realized what he was looking at, _'it can't be. Naruto is a guy... To have this particular seal and be a girl... Wait!'_ He examined the seal a little closer, noticing that there were differences with this seal that made it a completely different one. It looked like the Eight Trigrams Seal, but it wasn't. The most glaring difference, or what remained of it, was that the central spiral was in the opposite direction and composed of two curved lines rather than one. The exterior seals were also different as well, being designed to hold something inside the girl that he couldn't identify due to the damage to the seal. From what he could see of the seal, it appeared to have been designed to slowly erode until it could be broken by the person it was placed on. Quite simply, once the person had enough power, they could dispel the seal themselves. This girl was clearly not ready yet.

"Uh..." the girl stepped back slightly, "don't tell me you got a thing for little girls..."

"I am not that kind of **super** pervert!" Jiraiya shot back, "but I figured out a way to help you out with this little exercise."

"Really?" Naruko chimed, happy that it wasn't a lack of talent that prevented her from mastering this skill. For a few moments, she wondered if she had hit her limit as a ninja.

"It is a massage that helps relieve stress on the chakra coils and makes it easier for the patient to mold chakra," Jiraiya lied. What he was intending to do was obliterate the remainder of the seal. While it was no longer doing whatever it was originally supposed to do, the ruins of it were interfering with her coils.

"Don't do anything perverted," she warned. Jiraiya just sighed as he slammed his hand into the remains of the seal, destroying it completely and knocking the girl over.

"There, now try water walking again," the old pervert stated. The kitsune walked onto the water, not falling in the slightest. Jiraiya smirked, figuring he would go see the old man and then find Minato's kid.

"Oh Jiraiya, what are you doing here?" Hiruzen asked as he walked up. It was rhetorical, the only thing Jiraiya did around hot springs, hotels, high schools, colleges, shopping plazas and anywhere you could find young women was his 'research.'

"Just doing some research, helping this redhead out with her water walking," Jiraiya said, "I was wondering where Naruto was..."

Hiruzen wished he had a camera. "SHE is right behind you," he informed his student while pointing behind him at Naruko. This was going to be so good!

Jiraiya's face was priceless, eyes wide open and his mouth resembled a fish out of water. He just kept turning back and forth, his finger switching from Naruko to Hiruzen. "B-b-b-b-b-but Naruto's a guy!" he shouted, finally finding his words.

Hiruzen sighed as he put his pipe out. "That is right, Naruto was a boy. This is Naruko, daughter of the Nine-tails."

Once again, Jiraiya spun in circles while pointing between the Hokage and the kitsune. Hiruzen wondered which would take the perverted author down first, the shock of Naruko's identity or the rapid spinning.

"Jiraiya... Isn't that my godfather?" Naruko asked. Jiraiya snapped in her direction, stared at her for a full minute, then fainted. Hiruzen chuckled, Naruko really was unpredictable.

_[A few days later]_

"You have ZERO talent!" Jiraiya shouted at the girl.

Said girl wanted to shout back at him with the same yell that had shaken the windows back during the first exam, but she refrained from doing so. The old guy was useless enough with him peeping all the time rather than monitoring her. Putting him in the hospital would be too much. "I'm trying my best," she growled back. She started up again.

"Stop! Just stop right there!" Jiraiya ordered. The girl stopped and glared. "Listen to me now. I know that you should have more than enough chakra for this, being the new Kyūbi and all, so why ain't it working?" He thought for a few moments. "Hey, back in Wave and against mutt boy, did something feel different to you?"

Naruko thought for a few moments. "I felt very hot. It was my chakra, it felt like liquid fire flowing through me."

"That's it! That must be what is wrong," Jiraiya stated. A blank look told Jiraiya he needed to explain himself. "My guess is that you can access the power of your tails' chakra separately from your regular chakra." Further explanation was needed due to the dim look on Naruko's face. "Geez, you don't know anything at all. The bijū were ranked based on how many tails they possessed, the nine-tails being the strongest living one for obvious reasons. Since you can't use your tails, in more ways than one, you are relying on the chakra your body creates naturally and not the power of your tails. To put it simply, you are a tailless fox demon right now and that is why you can't perform the summoning jutsu. We need you to use that fiery chakra, the chakra from your tails. I guess that means that each tail of a bijū has its own coils and chakra system, though it would still be connect to the main one. Hmm. Maybe it is more like a chakra booster system..."

"But I don't have any tails," Naruko protested.

"You also look nothing like a female fox demon of the highest calibre, but it's still a fact," Jiraiya pointed out. He thought for a few moments. "I got nothing right now, so go into the village and relax for the day while I think of a solution." He shunshined away.

Naruko's expression became flat. "Yeah right. You just want to go eye rape some women, pervert." She turned and walked away to go do as the man said. Maybe Haku could help out, but first, lunch!

She wasn't even able to make it to Ramen Ichiraku for lunch. She ran into a certain pinkette before reaching Heaven on Earth.

"Naruko!" Sakura called out, "get ready!"

"For what?" the kitsune dumbly asked as the girl stopped running in front of her.

"Shopping," Sakura replied. The pinkette grabbed the redhead and dragged her towards the flower shop of all places. There, they picked up Ino and they dragged the poor kitsune off to the clothing stores. Not an easy feat, but still doable.

After a brief whirlwind of girl talk, clothes being held up to her for comparison and her own clothes being yanked off, Naruko found herself stuffed into a changing room with a few sets of underwear. Wasn't that sexual harassment? She remembered how Ino turned red when she saw Naruko's underwear, just as she was pulling them off too, calling them a 'tong' or something like that. What did that mean? Did Anko give her something strange to wear?

"They...took...everything!" Naruko muttered out as she stood in the raw. She quickly pulled on the underwear, taking pains to make sure they only went where they belonged. Hey! These ones weren't so bad! She then looked down at the bra, wondering how the heck someone put that thing on. The thing Anko gave her was perfect since you just pulled it on. The thing the girls wanted her to put on looked like a piece of torture equipment. She picked it up and started trying to work it out.

Ino and Sakura were idly chattering about nothing in particular (Sasuke) when they heard a pitiful whine come from the stall. Ino got up to see what was wrong. Sakura, curious, moved closer so she could hear what was going on.

"What's your problem now?" Ino questioned irritably.

Naruko whimpered. "I can't get this thing on."

Ino sighed. "Geez. Here, I'll help you out."

"Hyaa!" Naruko yelped, "where are you touching me!"

"Just stay still or I might end up hurting you," Ino growled. A bit of shifting was heard along with some muffled moans and a light thump or two.

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up. This sounded so wrong...

"Ino~ Those won't fit in there~ Ahh!" Naruko moaned loudly. By now, a few guys were interested in returning with the girl they were escorting in case this kind of thing happened often. Even a few girls were glancing over with blushes on their faces.

"J-just don't move to much or it may hurt going in," Ino grunted. More sound of a scuffle and then Ino cried out, "I don't believe this!"

Sakura couldn't take it and pulled the curtains open to poke her head in. "What's the matter?"

Ino looked at Sakura while holding up a panting, blushing Naruko. "She's even bigger than me! The bra is too small!"

In the end, the two girls had to get a shop keeper to help out since they felt a little inferior to the redhead's bust. Luckily, they didn't hear the woman mention anything about needing a bigger tape measure, like they did with Hinata during their last academy physical. They did hear something about a small C being needed. Ino growled, knowing that she wore a smaller size, which she wouldn't disclose.

"Good thing she isn't after Sasuke with those things..." Ino muttered angrily.

"How do you know that?" Sakura asked. She was even angrier than the blonde. Forget not disclosing what size her bra was, she hadn't even worn a real one yet! The shop keepers always said that it was 'too soon for her' and helped her pick out training bras.

"While I was helping her out, she kept blushing, shivering and moaning at every touch," Ino stated, "she might have a girl's body, but her heart is still that of a perverted boy."

Sakura gave Ino a flat look. "What right do you have calling her a pervert? You groped her on the first day of the exam. Who knows what you did to her just then in the stall!"

Ino turned red from anger and embarrassment. "HEY! I thought it was some stupid henge at first. And I was only helping her out because we, unlike you, aren't stocking stuffing all year round!"

That signalled the end of any civil conversation. When Naruko finally came out, mumbling about how all women were perverts as she watched the oddly happy shopkeeper walk away, she was treated to the sight of Sakura and Ino rolling around on the ground, spitting insults and yanking at each other. The kitsune idly wondered if clothing would come off before she started wondering if it was safe to continue being trained by perverts. She broke up the fight when she heard a few buttons pop open.

_[Ten minutes later, Ramen Ichiraku]_

Ino and Sakura were still pissed at each other, but Naruko had said that the first sign of a fight, she would toss both of them out of her sacred temple to ramen. Yes, she actually called the small stand a sacred temple. So here they were, sitting with the redhead between them, eating the noodles while the girl gleefully inhaled them. A stack of fifteen bowls were set by the sink and it looked like Naruko wasn't going to slow down soon.

"How much can you eat?" Ino asked.

Teuchi chuckled and pointed to a wall. Both girls looked over and saw that, during a ramen eating contest, Naruko (right after wave) had managed to scarf down twenty eight bowls of ramen. "The only reason she didn't eat more was because the others gave up," the old man informed the girls, "and they only gave up because we were out of ingredients."

Both girls looked at the one between them and wondered if any blood was found in her ramen streams. Even more importantly, where did all that ramen go? She should be as huge as an Akimichi after that. Right then and there, the two girls decided to eat more ramen. It must be going to her chest! It was the only reasonable explanation.

"I'm done!" Naruko cheered as she put down her eighteenth bowl. She then dug out her wallet, still Gama-chan, and paid for all the ramen. Ino and Sakura idly wondered if that frog wallet had a bottom since the tidy sum Naruko pulled out did nothing to the size of the wallet. "Let's go find Ero-sennin!"

_[Hot springs, half an hour later]_

"Ohhh yeah! Just an inch further to the left... Right there!" the perverted sage muttered to the girls on the other side of the fence, "oh you are all sooo naughty. Show it all to Jiraiya-sama." The man was blushing up a storm and already had soaked tissues stuffed in his nostrils. He was panting a bit too. He suddenly jerked, feeling the most potent killing intent he had ever felt, even more than that time his Tōton jutsu gave out when Tsunade and twenty other kunoichi in the bath decided to remodel Jiraiya's face and body. He turned to see his apprentice and two other girls glaring at him, all of them getting ready to attack him.

Three minutes later, Jiraiya was crying over the remains of his notepad. "You didn't have to go and kill my most faithful companion," the man pitifully wailed.

"Don't go doing perverted stuff in front of ladies again," Ino huffed out.

Jiraiya decided he wanted to die. "What ladies? All I see is a slightly warped black board, a set of mole hills and some tissues..."

Two minutes later, the white haired pervert was nursing some new bruises. "Well, it's time to get back to training," he looked at the other girls, "is your harem staying to watch you work up a sweat so your dress clings to your every curve? Maybe you should use that oiroke jutsu again. They're sure to love it!"

Ino blushed while Sakura glared at the man. "We like boys!" the two girls shouted.

"Ooh! A tsundere harem too," he nudged the redhead as he leaned in and whispered to her, "you got good taste. The blonde seems interested. Pinky may take a little while to come around though. Her kind tend to be a little wild in bed."

Naruko nervously chuckled, but shook her head. "They like Sasuke, not me."

Jiraiya got a sour look on his face. "Oh him, the sharingan brat. Ah whatever, I'm not interested in geniuses. I prefer idiots like me." He smirked, remembering how much of a goof ball he had been. Look at him now, one of the Leaf's most powerful ninja and a man loved by women the world over! "Now that I have thought about it, I know a way to help you out with," he glanced at Ino and Sakura, "with using some of your full power."

"Really? Tell me! Tell me!" Naruko cheered.

"First, I want you to keep summoning until I say otherwise," Jiraiya ordered. Naruko nodded and went off to start summoning until told to stop.

Sakura and Ino walked a bit closer to the perverted old man, but not close enough to be in danger. "Summoning... You mean to tell me that Naruko, of all people, is a summoner now?" Sakura asked.

"What's so special about summoning?" Ino asked. She had heard about it, but paid little attention to the subject. It required lots of chakra and time to master, so she had no need for it.

Jiraiya dropped into teacher mode. "Summoning is a time/space ninjutsu where a ninja has signed a contract with one of the great animal races. Think of it as calling on intelligent animals that can use jutsu like us," he then remembered Sakura's sensei, "your sensei can summon dogs, me and Naruko summon toads, or at least she's trying to."

"That seems...appropriate..." Ino muttered, remembering Gama-chan.

Jiraiya looked over and noticed that Naruko was completely messing up the hand seals. Instead of being a good teacher and point out the error, Jiraiya wanted to see what happened with those hand seals. After all, Minato accidentally created the Rasengan from a training exercise he was developing.

"**Kuchiyose no jutsu!"** Naruko shouted as she held her hand close to the ground. A large smoke cloud burst away from the spot, nothing abnormal with her poor control. What happened next was hilarious.

The cloud blew away to reveal a woman. She had white hair that reached her lower back, a black kimono held shut by a blood red sash. She had nothing on her feet and a pipe held in one of her delicate hands. Her right eye was closed, the left being covered by an eye patch with a fox made of silver on it. Jiriaya noticed the arm guard on her right forearm, but who cares about that kind of thing? She had a nice figure and seemingly nothing under the kimono!

"That doesn't look like a toad..." Sakura and Ino deadpanned.

"YOU'RE A GENIUS!" Jiraiya bellowed as he flew at the woman, arms held out to...grope her or something, "to the promised valley I go!" His face was lined up perfectly with her chest.

The woman opened her right eye, a sharingan spinning at the sight of a man flying at her. She sidestepped the flying pervert and swung her pipe down to hit his nose. Jiraiya grabbed his injured nose and smashed into a rock, face first, breaking his nose. "None other than Kyūbi-sama may touch me without my master's leave," the woman stated coolly with a deceptively soft voice. The sharingan scanned everyone until it landed on Naruko. The woman got down on one knee and bowed to the redhead. "Kyūbi-sama, I am at your service."

"W-who are you?" Naruko managed.

"I am your faithful vassal, Shiratama. Call me Tama if you wish," the woman said, "what do you require of me?"

"Strip!" Jiraiya shouted without thinking. Women who hit him tend to hit him more if he was a pervert.

Nobody expected Tama to ask, "do you wish for that, Kyūbi-sama? Shall I remove my clothes for you?"

Naruko shook her head. "No, please don't!" the girl was silent for a few moments, then asked, "how did you know I was the Kyūbi?" She didn't realize what she said until the replay went through her head.

Ino and Sakura stepped back a slight bit. "Y-you're the nine-tailed fox?" they shouted.

"No need to act like that ladies," Jiraiya said as he appeared behind them, stopping them from running off, "I can assure you that the attack thirteen years ago was not the will of the Nine-tails. It was forced to attack. Also, Naruko is the NEW Kyūbi. None of the bad things her mother did have anything to do with her."

"But she's a demon!" Ino shouted.

"And you're clan robs people of their bodies, invades their minds and temporarily disrupts the connections between their minds and bodies. Does that make you any more normal than her?" Jiraiya shot back. Ino looked away. "If this uncute brat wanted to do any of the things her mother did, then she would have done them already. Think of it for a moment. Would a terrible demon take half of the shit she went through without fighting back? I don't think so." He glared in the direction of the council building. "If you want to find the true demons in Konoha, go look for the adults that made her younger years a lonely hell. Had she been cared for properly, she would be the elite rookie, not that sharingan brat."

Sakura had an image of her aunt flash through her head and felt shame in being related to the woman. Just like those born into shady families or clans, Naruko had no choice in her birth parents or race. Wait, birth parents. "Who's Naruko's father?"

Tama cleared her throat. "Sometimes, the Bijū decide to end their rule and give birth to an heir to take over. The Nine-tails has done this twice already. The females do not require mates because they can choose whether or not to become pregnant. Naruko-sama's mother impregnated herself, so there is no father. Of course, she could have allowed herself to be impregnated. Human blood would have been overridden by the power of the Kyūbi's blood, making her child a full demon. Once the heir has lived for over an hour, the previous Kyūbi will cease to exist and pass their powers on."

"Sounds boring," Ino and Jiraiya said at the same time. A life with the possibility of no sex but still getting pregnant... that had to suck.

"Though they do not require a mate, the Bijū sometimes select one or more life partners. They can will these life partners, if both are female, to be pregnant was well. The child will be a half demon, bearing the blood of the human and Kyūbi. Of course, the heir must be a full blooded demon," Tama finished.

"What's with that sharingan? Did you take it from an Uchiha?" Jiraiya asked. It had been bugging him for a while now.

Tama's sharingan spun and changed shape. It was now a ring with four points sticking out to the corners of her eyes and two pointing inward to her pupil from either side. "One such as me stealing from those honorless cutthroats? Don't make me laugh. It is the traitorous Uchiha who stole the sharingan from us demons." She took a deep breath, making her sharingan revert to the basic form. Oddly enough, her basic sharingan possessed two rings, the second ring having three tomoe arranged in reverse of the smaller ring. "A demon clan made a contract with the Uchiha when they first started out, then they summoned one who possessed this dōjutsu and stole the eyes for their petty revenge on the noble Senju clan. Thankfully, Kurama-sama, the Ichiban Kyūbi, cursed the eyes they stole, making the Uchiha clan as a whole turn into murders and thieves who stole from their own kin and allies for power."

"Cursed?" Naruko asked.

"In order for us demons to awaken the second form of the sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan, we need to form a life contract with a human. Our Mangekyō Sharingan also has no ill effects on us," Tama explained.

"I heard that Uchiha have to kill their someone in order to unlock the usage of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Sadly, using the second form and its powers eats away at their vision until they are completely blind, sealing their Sharingan and all related abilities away forever," Jiraiya finished up for the kitsune.

Tama smirked. "That is half our great lord's curse. The person they must kill is a person they are close to, but feel no fraternal bond to. The other half of the curse is that they can stabilize and reverse the deterioration of their vision, but they have to kill a person who also possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan and have the eyes implanted into their own. This normally causes the designs to mix into one, creating Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan, a Mangekyō Sharingan that will never destroy its owner's eyesight." Her eye shifted to its Mangekyō Sharingan form, then pulsed as the thick ring divided into three separate rings. The outside ring kept the outward spikes while the innermost ring broke into four pieces to surround her slitted pupil, the two prongs turning into four short spikes pointing towards her pupil. "Us demons can unlock the Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan by killing a wicked human, or an Uchiha with either Mangekyō Sharingan." She returned her eye to the standard sharingan form.

"Why did you appear?" Sakura asked.

"Are you dull witted? I was summoned by Kyūbi-sama," Tama stated.

Jiraiya decided he had enough history lessons. "Listen, Tama-chan, I was trying to help Naruko here use her tails to summon a toad to help her improve her chakra control. I was wondering if you could help us out?"

Tama scowled at him. "Next time you call me Tama-chan, I'll reverse summon myself while holding your genitals, taking ONLY them with me. I can't help her access her powers as a Bijū because she is far too young to use it." Jiraiya instantly covered his genitals in fear.

"I already used them a few times before," Naruko popped in.

Tama's neck cricked as she turned to look at Naruko. "Y-you already used your powers? But that isn't possible! You need at least fifty years of experience to even sense that power!"

Naruko thought for a few moments. "I was really mad the first time."

"That could explain it. Anger sometimes lends you the power of your tails, but you still can't use them at will yet." Tama started thinking to herself.

"But I used it again not too long ago," Naruko protested, "I used it against that Kusa-nin and Kiba."

"Three times? That shouldn't be possible... Did anything strange happen lately?" Tama asked.

Naruko frowned. "Yeah. That perverted snake woman bit my neck!"

"Anko bit you?" Jiraiya blurted out. He was thinking of a new novel: Icha Icha Mistress! His fans enjoyed the little bit of lesbian action in one of his earlier books, maybe they would like one whole novel of it! A bossy onee-chan character with her 'imouto' would drive the men (and a few women) wild! He knew it was getting him excited.

"No. That Kusa-nin did it," Naruko corrected. Jiraiya sighed, at least he had mental pictures.

"Can I see it?" Tama and Jiraiya asked. Naruko carefully moved her battle dress to show them the place she had been bitten. What they saw was a circle with four lines to form an endless 'hallway.' Four triangles stood outside the circle to form a box's corners.

"Hmm. It looks kinda like that curse seal Anko has, but it's too different," Jiraiya said, "that kunoichi must have been Orochimaru in disguise."

"Naruko-sama's body mutated the marking into something new," Tama mused, "it seems to be hyper accelerating her awareness as a Bijū..."

"One more time, in Japanese please," Ino said.

Tama muttered something about humans and their tiny minds. "This curse seal was changed by Naruko-sama's natural defences and it is now making her grow into her powers faster. That means that she will gain a few years of experience in a matter of months while idle. As for while she fights, it must be like she is almost old enough to use her first tail." She lit up her pipe with a breath of white flame and took a drag on it, then blew a stream of blue smoke into the air. "I might be able to assist you in getting Naruko-sama to perfect her summoning, but I need to train her as well."

"What does she need to do?" Jiraiya asked.

Tama took a deep pull on her pipe, then blew out a ton of smoke. When the smoke cleared, a long, ferret-like fox was there holding onto a white scroll with gold edges. "Kanko. There is a new Kyūbi-sama, I need her to establish herself as our mistress," Tama said to the small fox. It made a whistling/purring noise before it unwound itself from the scroll and allowed Tama to take it. "Naruko-sama. Just like with the toad contract, you must sign this with your blood."

"What is this?" Jiraiya asked. He had never seen such a contract scroll before.

"This is the Royal Line, a scroll containing the names of all our past leaders as well as choice humans who we recognized as allies or were taken as mates," Tama explained as she handed the scroll over to Naruko, "it also allows you to summon your kindred as well."

The redhead unfurled the scroll and saw a list written within.

Ichiban Kyūbi: Kurama (M)

Ally: Uzumaki Mito (F), Hashirama Senju (M)

Mate: Senju Mamori (F), Yamanaka Inomi (F)

Niban Kyūbi: Tsurenai (F)

Ally: Uzumaki Kushina (F), Namikaze Minato (M)

Mate: None

Naruko cut her thumb on one of her canines and added her own entry. She made sure to hide it from others.

Sanban Kyūbi: Uzumaki-Namikaze, Naruko Kyūbi (F)

Ally: Konohagakure

Mate:

Naruko left the rest blank, hoping to add other bits (cough- Sakura as her mate -cough) to it later. She rolled it up and handed it over to Tama while whispering, "don't show Ino or Sakura-chan." Tama nodded and told Naruko how to summon kitsune. It was strange because she was to focus chakra into her hands while holding them before her chest, then summon. Whatever she summoned would appear in front of her.

"Summon me again tomorrow. I must share the news with your kingdom, Empress Naruko-sama," the blue haired kitsune woman stated as she dismissed herself.

Naruko was about to go back to training when she remembered something written on the scroll. She glanced over at Ino, remembering that a Yamanaka had been mated to the first demon fox. She also remembered how the Kyūbi could choose to impregnate their mates if both were female, or have children the normal way. Did that mean that males could impregnate a female human too? Wait, how did a woman get pregnant? If the foxes could impregnate human women, that meant that Ino might be related to her somehow! Well, that would explain why they looked similar...

**A/N~**

For those wondering, Kanko are "Pipe-foxes." I lost one reader in the form of an anonymous reader. Oh well, I'll chalk him/her off next to Arina. Tsurenai means 'Loveless.'

Also, this is the last completed chapter I have for this fic. Luckily, I'm finished writing Part I for Two Demons. I still need to QC it and maybe do some minor alterations here and there, but it is done for now. Expect new events soon and badass Naruko.

Funny Note: This fic's little appreviation is KKIT, not to be confused with Duke Nukem's KTIT. They are two completely different things, though KKIT does sort of involve some KTIT. (Kitsune... you know the rest)

**Responses-**

**chm01:** I did that too. I broke a guy's rib and knocked another buy out (along with two of his teeth) by slamming him into a steel fence post. Still didn't help me much since it just reinforced people's belief that I was one of those crazy people who seems quiet and withdrawn until I finally snapped. They only left me alone after I bit into some jerk's arm who was trying to choke me out, then threw him face first into a concrete wall and kicked him into it when he started to slide down. Yeah, I can be downright vicious when pushed. Thankfully, I have left such violent outbursts behind me. I just go wild in video games instead.

**SuperNeos2:** For now, you're safe. As soon as Ino wants her, back off or you'll suddenly find yourself in the dead center of a busy mall with no clothes. When Sakura wants her too, you'll be able to go to the moon for free with no rocket AND no clothes.

**Overlord of the afterlife:** That was planned too. Nothing huge, just Sakura and Ino trying to 'girl up' Naruko, like they did in this chapter. Never works out well though...

**God of all:** Continuing.

**Sky Zepherus:** Neji's beatdown... Oh sh- Wait, I did plan it. Naruko's second fight is something else entirely, so look forward to that! And what did you say before? You didn't post a review for chapter 4.

**Nairojam:** I know. It just seems unnatural to go from 'idiot teammate' and 'stupid prankster' to lover in such a small amount of time. Add to it that Sakura and Ino have been straight their entire lives would make it very strange for them to suddenly develop an interest in another girl. Arina must love those stories where Sakura is bashing his head in one moment and practically mouth raping him the next.

Ah well, this chapter introduced a bit of NaruIno yuri for people to enjoy. Actually, it also introduced a tiny sliver of Naru/Shopkeeper too. Sorry to all women who read this, it just seems hilarious that girls call boys perverts for looking while girls can practically grope each other to assist in getting dressed and it is almost always nothing but slightly embarrassing.

As for poking fun at Ino and Sakura's lack of bust...Sorry again, I just couldn't resist. Like I said before, it is not Oiroke Naruko. I composed Naruko's appearance from three sources: Ino (slim body type), Sakura (clothing style) and the third is my own twisted imagination.(hair style and slightly increased bust size) I would lay out Naruko's three sizes, but I don't think I could get the proportions right. They'd just seem way off or odd. Let's just say that her hips are decent, her waist is trim and she has small c-cup breasts.

**Spazzyninjafish:** Your strength is probably from surfing, since it requires a lot of power to maintain your balance on those boards. My ability to move has been somewhat limited due to an injury I suffered. (go see Konoha's Two Demons, chapter 18 for details)

As for my fighting style, I never bothered to name it. Yeah, I created it. All torque based fighting styles, other than boxing styles, are self created. Don't bother learning one either unless it is boxing. They require a very high pain tolerance and often lead to joint issues later on in life. Unlike most people though, I've advanced my style to the point where I can drag out all that power with little to no risk to my joints now.

A good way to test pain tolerance, though it may seem slightly masochist, is to sit in seiza and see how long you can do it. It is one of the most uncomfrotable, painful positions in the world since it stress everything. By the way, seiza is to sit with your legs tucked under you so you are literally sitting so all the weight of your upper body is on the backs of your ankles.

What you are talking about when you mention the organ donations is called 'cell memory.' It has been used often in many movies. It doesn't occur that often with blood, unless you have a major transfusion.

You are one heck of a strong individual. Rather than emotional strength, which I was never able to obtain, I went for emotional neutrality. I am almost emotionless and it is not wholly by choice either. All I have left is loneliness, hatred and sadness. The rest of my emotions are faked, learned from watching others. The scariest thing is that I can feel love, but it feels like there is a hole through my chest where my heart should be. I guess that means that I am missing something important. I openly admit that I'm a screwed up, broken, incomplete human male. That's what happens when you suffer a crippling emotional breakdown.

**ravenwingcorps:** It starts up soon, but it won't fully flare up til Part II. I figure Ino and Sakura need some time to sort through their new emotions, though Ino decides to test them a little sooner and far more directly than Sakura does. I figure two years is long enough for the two to realize that they are, at the least, bisexual and they want some hot kitsune girl in their lives and bedrooms.

**Pensuka:** Me too. Just kidding. I've actually planned up to the Rasengan training, which Naruko will do fairly well at. Other than that...I'll try to have some fun with it.

**Oxycoon:** I know of a few fics that did the whole sudden relationship thing before. That's not my style. I've played matchmaker for more than two dozen people and none of them got together overnight. Since I have a third person's experience in how a relationship develops, I know when things go too quickly.

**Angel Kiya:** Thanks, I guess? Who's rating me, a Jūbi or Kyūbi? If its Kurama, then he's a dirty boy, reading yuri stories online. And its his granddaughter too. Ero-fox.

**Dinian:** So far, everyone seems to think that Arina is wrong, so I will do things my way. She/he/it doesn't like it, then stop reading. And I do agree, Naruto(ko)/Ino is sweet enough to cause diabetes. I decided for a more...saucy romance between these two, which I do believe fits Ino's forward personality. Doesn't mean I can't make Ino nervous about being with a girl.

**Decdragon:** December Dragon? Decimal Dragon? Sorry, I just like to try and guess where people's pen names/aliases come from.

(In case anyone is wondering, Excele has no origin other than my insane membrane, but Kurokami means 'Black God' in Japanese.)

Naruko/Ino will occur soon, around the Sasuke retrieval arc or just before Naruko leaves on her 2 year training trip. What you should look forward to is Sakura's reaction.

**Gaara king of sand:** I know. Spontaneous love doesn't always last. I prefer interest, friendship, love, then passion. Romance won't really begin til Part II, as always. Twelve is too young for anything other than puppy love when you only became friends two or three months ago. If Naruko, Sakura and Ino were childhood friends, then I would start the romance earlier, but they weren't.

**Akane Mosoa:** I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I can write a NaruHina, in fact I've got a one shot and two or three stories with NaruHina in them. What I can't write very well is Hinata's canon personality. In all the fics where I want Hinata to join the harem, she gets more confident in herself for Naruto or they have been friends for a while and she is slightly more resistant to fainting spells.

And about the fainting, I think its funny. I am also not going to hunt down all the anime episodes. I have a bandwidth cap and my hard drive space isn't unlimited. I do have all of the currently released manga though.

**k4m3j0:** That's what I say. I'm fairly certain that nobody is being forced to read my fics.

Friendship building...I'm doing that in Two Demons, but this fic will be slightly different. Ino's hand will be tilted slightly by a new, burning desire to maul a certain red yōko girl. Like I said earlier, saucy~ Sakura is just jealous, just like always.

**Ladygodess8:** Naruko will gain a tail, but not yet. She actually accesses a power before that. While I think it would be cute for her to run around with a rust red fox tail swaying around behind her, I think I'll wait until Part II.

I'm kind of dragging around in my head to make a new outfit for Naruko. For those who have played Skyrim, I was thinking of something like what the murals in Potema's catacombs display, the outfit of a Wolf Queen. Think of a skirt, leg warmers, skimpy shirt, arm warmers and a hat, all made from wolf furs. Like I said, those who have played Skyrim have probably seen the murals I've seen.

**Karibanu:** .Arina was saying that since there was no Naruko/anybody, I should stop writing and delete the fic. If that were the case, about 90% of the fics out there would never have been written. Evidently, a person who was relatively new to the site or loves those stories where love just suddenly explodes out of nothing.

Well, like you said, it's my fic so I'll write it the way I want. I'll take an idea from the reviewers here or there, like the possibility of Naruko/Hana friendship, but it's still my story!

**deathgengeonous:** Updated.

**Irish Shift:** A great story... Nah, its good, that's about it.

**Jamie9696:** What's with this ominous feeling? Could it be because of the 'so far' part?

**Fai Senri:** Updated.

**NaruNamikaze:** Glad you love this fic.

**KTlovesmoney:** Ohhh! My switch flipped. I'm performing some..EVIL! Kehehahahaha! (in Konoha, Kiba shivers from dread when he sees his sister reading a letter with a wicked grin on her face)

**DarkLordK:** It's true! Naruko is either hooking up with Sasuke, Kakashi, Itachi, Male Naruto (not always brother and sister) or her own father! The few Naruko/femcharacter stories I have found don't have the pairing listed, mostly Naruto(ko)/someone and the other girl/some guy(normally Sasuke). I just figured to knock off the two most well known Naruto girls with one swoop, er, one lesbian yōko.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: Naruko's summoning of kitsune is just like the first part of Lightning's summoning of Odin from Final Fantasy XIII. No producing a crystal and cutting it, just a bright ball of light that lands in front of her and a kitsune appears.**

Chapter 7: Terrible, majestic creature

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own my pen name. That is all.**

Naruko stood in a line, facing the people who would witness the tournament. It was her first time seeing so many people who weren't trying to glare her to death or make her feel unwelcome enough to leave the village or kill herself. A welcome change, but why did she feel like a piece of meat at a market?

Ugh, why did she feel so stiff?

Maybe it was because she had tired herself out the day before training as hard as she could. She got summoning down a few days ago. She had to stay on a giant toad's head, Gamabunta til sunset. Naruko kind of passed out a after getting tossed off, so Jiraiya had to tell her what happened. Apparently, she used the last of her chakra to create a shadow clone to throw her back onto his head, where she held on even after passing out.

On the Kitsune side of things, Naruko had learned much about her powers and could now produce sonic roars at will, but she lacked the ability to focus them, making them little more than shields. She had learned some of the Kyūbi's fighting style, which was pretty much what she had been doing when she fought Kiba. Of course she still couldn't get that weird technique down that allowed her to fight more like a beast. Tama believed that it was part of the curse seal's effect, a kind of berserk mode. Either way, she couldn't do it at will and hadn't used it since that fight. She still couldn't use katon to save her life, but that was apparently normal.

Once the Sandaime was done his speech, the new protor, Genma stepped forward. "Before we start the tournament, the set up of the matches has been slightly altered. Look at this." He held up a piece of paper.

Match 1: Kankuro VS Aburame Shino

Match 2: Uchiha Sasuke VS Sabaku no Gaara

Match 3: Nara Shikamaru VS Temari

Match 4: Uzumaki Naruko K. VS Hyūga Neji

"Hey, is it alright to start?" Naruko asked, "Sasuke isn't here."

"If he's not here when his match comes up then he's disqualified," Genma stated. When nobody else spoke up, he declared in a loud voice, "this is your final test. Same rules, different arena. Fight until one is clearly defeated. I'll step in if I think you are going to far, but you could still die if you're not careful. If I move in, you stop moving." He let that sink in, then continued. "Match 1: Kankuro and Aburame Shino. Everyone else, leave the battlefield."

Naruko and the others all went to the competitor's box and watched the match. Sadly, Kankuro gave up right when Genma started the match. Genma declared that Sasuke had five minutes to show up or he'd be disqualified. Just before the time was up, Genma spoke with someone on his radio and then told the crowd that Sasuke would have his match moved to the last slot. Temari didn't even wait for her name to be called and jumped down, using her fan to glide down, then blasted a gust upwards while baiting Shikamaru to come down. Naruko sensed that he was going to take the Nara way out and shoved him over the edge of the railing. She knew it wouldn't kill him and it would at least make him try to fight.

Truth be told, Naruko only gave the battle half of her mind. She wondered where Sasuke was. With how he was, he should have been here yesterday, all ready to go. It made no sense. Could that Gaara guy have done something to him? Or was it that cross dressing Orochimaru creep who bit them? If that was the case, Orochimaru would come to fear tails, just as soon as Naruko grew one and kicked his ass with its power. Now that she thought of it, she'd look cuter with a tail.

Naruko paled with dread. _'Did I just think of myself as cute? Oh Kami, I'm turning into a girl!'_

"Winner: Temari!" Genma shouted. Naruko quickly looked down and saw that Temari was just as confused as everyone else. Seems Shikamaru went and gave up anyways, but not before putting Temari in a corner. "Next match: Uzumaki Naruko K. VS Hyūga Neji! Both combatants make your way down to the battlefield!"

Naruko went for drama and hopped over the edge, sliding down the wall with the assistance of chakra. That old pervert's words made sense, so why not do it?

_[A week ago]_

"Hmm. Yeah, I don't see the council approving of you becoming a chūnin," Jiraiya confirmed after the girl confided in him. Seeing her crumple, he decided to let her in on his secret to becoming chūnin. "Listen, just do what I did."

"I am not learning an invisibility jutsu and peeking on women," Naruko growled even as she imagined how awesome doing that would be.

Jiraiya sighed, realizing that he would forever be a useless pervert to the girl if he didn't start acting respectable. "Not that. Just show the crowd all your skill. If the guests see a genin summoning and fighting like you do, they'll want you for their missions. If they find out that some strong taijutsu specialist became a chūnin when the amazing genin who defeated him didn't, Konoha would be a laughing stock. They would think the council was losing their edge and that would mean their downfall," Jiraiya explained, "see? In order to keep their positions of power, they'll need to promote you."

Naruko thought about it, then decided that it sounded like a great idea. But she still wanted to learn that invisibility jutsu!

_[Now]_

Everyone thought this was the end of the line for Naruko, that she wasn't going to be able to defeat Neji. Even Naruko herself wondered if she could defeat the Hyūga.

"Your fight against that lesser clan boy was impressive," Neji stated, "but throughout the fight, it seemed like you were barely moving at all to my eyes." He then smirked at her glare. "Something to say before your humiliation?"

Naruko resisted the urge to summon a fox to scare him. "I'm going to humiliate you."

"Third round," Genma said, even as he felt there had only been one round so far, "begin!"

"Big words before your downfall. This will make it all the more interesting when you kneel before me in defeat," Neji said as he assumed his stance.

"Just shut up and fight," Naruko growled. After a few moments, she decided that closing in on the boy was useless. As her six clones appeared around her, she felt depressed that she didn't know any long range jutsu. She had them charge forward.

"Useless," Neji muttered as he proceeded to make a mockery of the high ranked jutsu. After dispatching all six clones like he was killing flies, he smirked at the girl. "Useless, just like the effort you blind fools put in to everything. You are held back by destiny, not by your body. For you, Hokage and pw is too great for a person like you. Hinata is never going to amount to much either."

"The hell?" Naruko growled.

"When you're born, everything is decided by destiny. To try and transcend fate is the same as trying to strike the moon with a kunai, an impossible task," Neji explained, "let me put it simply for an idiot like youself: destiny made you too weak to be anything other than a genin."

"What gives you the right to decide that?" Naruko asked.

Neji sighed. "I just said it was destiny, not me, that decides all. All the past, present and future Hokage were born for it. While it may seem like men chose them, it was decided long before they spoke that they would be rise to be Hokage. Life isn't a river or a waterfall you can power through, it's an ocean." He then snorted, as if to stifle a laugh. "Are you like Lee? Thinking hard work will take you far? What a joke." He then became grim. "Everyone shares only two common places in destiny: birth and death."

Naruko saw and felt the despair pouring from every part of the boy. "What messed you up so badly?" she asked, "what makes you look for death rather than live?"

Neji almost flinched at that. _'What the- How? Can it be that she can read me even without a dōjutsu?'_

"I don't know what happened to make you like this, but I figure defeating you might help fix you a little," Naruko stated as she created twenty clones. "Neji... It's time to wake up," the girl muttered as her clones attacked.

Neji dodged all the attacks and took out a few clones as he pushed forward. He knew that, while he couldn't see which was the real Naruko, he knew where she was. He finally broke though and drove a palm strike into her neck, destroying her wind pipe. And while he didn't like the creepy wheezing/whistling noise coming from her as she tried to breathe, he put on his stone mask of indifference.

"Because you knew getting close to me was dangerous, you always stood outside of the fight," Neji explained, "that is why kage bunshin is useless in your hands. I only had to strike the Naruko that wasn't fighting."

The girl, in spite of suffocating, smiled at the boy. "Got...you," she rasped, then exploded into a cloud of chakra.

"It can't be!" Neji shouted as he wheeled around to see two Narukos coming at him from behind.

"With this strike!" one shouted. "You will begin to lose!" the other shouted. "We got you!" both declared as they neared.

The fist of one of the two redheads connected, seemingly dealing damage. Instead a layer of chakra absorbed the blow and Neji started spinning, the chakra forming an orb around his body.

"**Hakkeshō Kaiten!"**

Naruko was knocked back while her clone was torn apart by the chakra 'shield.' Neji stopped his spin and smirked at the girl. "You thought you won?" Neji asked, then closed his eyes as he saw a symbol on the ground, "you're in my field of divination..." He assumed a stance and rushed the girl, repeated hitting her with jabs until, **"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"**

Naruko found herself blown back, having just suffered almost the full power of a Hyūga. Almost instantly, incredible pain flared throughout her body as she fell to the ground. Nothing but pain rebounding again and again through her body, strengthening with every pulse. It was Hell.

"You're finished," Neji stated, "I've sealed sixty-four of your body's tenketsu. Standing should be almost impossible." He noted the girl's violently shaking body. He didn't know what the technique should normally do, but this wasn't it. She should be disabled, but it looked more like she was in the throes of death. "This is how it should be. Stay down before a power you can never hope to understand or defeat," Neji lowered himself and lifted the girl's face to see her agony filled eyes, "hard work amounts to nothing. It is nothing more than a dream, a fantasy of those without power." He let her face go and started walking away.

"Grrr..."

Neji glared back at the girl. "What are you doing? Forcing yourself will make it worse."

"Those...eyes..." Naruko gasped through the pain, "they... see ev-cough- everything... So why torment... Hinata?"

"That is none of your concern," Neji muttered.

Naruko managed to lever herself up so she sat on his ankles. The pain in her legs actually felt good compared to the pain rampaging through her body. "Who gave you... the right to decide other people's... fate?" she asked, "I don't care about what made y-cough! you this way anymore, I'm going to destroy your views."

"You foolish girl," Neji said, "fine. I'll show you the legacy of the Hyūga, and the destiny of the Branch House." He removed his forehead protector as he told a story about his and Hinata's fathers, twin brothers separated by minutes. Naruko learned of how Kumo wanted a Byakugan and failed in kidnapping Hinata. As a peace offering, Konoha was to send over Hinata's father. Instead, Neji's father, the younger twin was sent as a body double with sealed Byakugan. In the end, it seemed that was what had made Neji into what he was today.

Naruko leaned forward after the story and attempted to get up, but the pain was almost unbearable now. She wanted to scream in pain, to cry until the pain stopped. "I'll keep trying until the...end!" Naruko gasped. She kept trying to get up and kept failing. "Just because you lost your father, it doesn't let you decide... what people are capable of. Thinking everything is already decided is what...a-fool-does!" Naruko growled through the pain.

"Worthless," Neji said as he finished replacing his forehead protector. He rushed forward and struck Naruko's chest, sending a pulse of chakra into her heart. "Examiner, she is finished." The boy started to walk away.

Genma looked to the girl and didn't see her moving, not even twitching. As far as he could tell, the girl was dead. Many in the crowd thought so as well. "Winner:"

"I. Won't. Lose," Naruko growled as she dragged her nails through the dirt, trying to claw her way onto her feet.

"You lost the moment I was declared your opponent," Neji stated.

"I don't lose...to weak cowards. People who run...people who lie...people who feel powerless to do anything because they are afraid to," Naruko said as she managed to get on all fours, "you don't know anything unless you try."

"You can't possibly understand," Neji muttered as he thought of his life, "everyone is burdened with their destiny, but some have heavier burdens than others. Someone like you could never understand what it is like to be permanently marked from birth!"

Naruko roughly chuckled at the boy. "I can understand better than you could ever hope. If anything, it's you who doesn't understand being marked for life," the kitsune stated.

Instantly, Ino and Sakura remembered how the girl was the Kyūbi. Nobody could hope to compare to her, a girl given the burden to carry on a legacy of the 'most terrible' of the Bijū. For her, it was something that would hang over her head for however long she lived.

"Hinata has it worse than you. She's a member of the main family, but she is treated worse than you branch families. She's ignored in spite of her blood and has to fight with all her strength just to be noticed," Naruko then realized something, "so that's why you did it. You are supposed to protect Hinata, but you are trying to have yourself killed so you can go against destiny!" She stumbled and fell onto her stomach again.

"I closed your tenketsu. Without chakra, what can you do?" Neji asked, "actually, what can you do _with_ chakra?" He noticed the girl's defiant glare. "You think destiny can be defeated? Show me then."

"I will," Naruko muttered. She needed all her power just to get up before. She needed more power. Her chakra was gone, so how? An image of a fox tail flashed in her mind. But how could she get that power again? She was angry like before and wanted to win just as much, but nothing was happening.

"Examiner. In order to end this match, I'll take her life," Neji declared, "if you feel the need, stop me."

Naruko bawled her fist, nails rending the ground apart as she focused all her hatred on her missing tails. She needed to awaken at least one tail in order to fight.

"Why struggle so hard?" Neji asked as he assumed a stance, readying himself to show the girl the other half of destiny they shared.

"Because 'fate' has done nothing more than beat me down," Naruko growled.

As Neji watched, something about the girl changed. On the outside, her wounds healed up. On the inside, Neji watched as the chakra near her spine started up again. He watched in shock as it spread throughout her body, down her spine and reached the end.

Then grew outside her body.

"What?" he shouted in alarm as chakra networks appeared out of thin air, forming nine extra appendages composed purely of chakra. It looked like latticework for a building with glowing points on them, tenketsu. The worst thing about it was the texture of the chakra she was emitting: rough and violent, like it wanted to shave his very existence away.

"It's over!" Naruko shouted. The latticework of chakra, the external chakra network, flowed into her, making her far stronger than before. It was so great that it formed a thin shell of dark red chakra around her, much like the first part of Neji's 'ultimate' defense. This startled many people because, since her unsealing, her chakra had been a silvery blue color.

In spite of his watchful eyes, Naruko vanished and reappeared in the air to his left. With a mere flick of her wrist, bolts of the dark red chakra flew at Neji like kunai. Neji performed his Hakkeshō Kaiten and deflected the chakra, but it broke apart the shell of chakra in the process. When he released it, he threw six shuriken at the girl, all of which missed when the girl vanished from his view again. Neji would have tried to figure out how she had gotten so fast, but she appeared and threw a kunai at him, which Neji deflected with one of his own.

Even as the kunai met in the air, Naruko and Neji struck each other so quickly only senior ninja and dōjutsu users could tell what had happened. Naruko growled and rushed at the boy, hoping to finish him off with his own talent: taijutsu. Neji activated his Hakkeshō Kaiten as Naruko and her chakra collided with it. "When I'm Hokage, the Hyūga will change!" Naruko declared. With that, the area seemingly exploded. Everyone was surprised that such a battle could occur between genin. They watched as two figures flew from the blast and impacted the ground hard enough to leave holes that were eerily similar to graves.

"Never expected something like this," Genma muttered, wondering if the arena was fit for the rest of the matches. Eh, the genin would manage.

Someone started to emerge from a hole, that someone being a battered Neji. His right arm hung limply, indicating some form of injury. Regardless, the boy got to his feet and stood proud like any Hyūga. As Tenten silently complimented Naruko for pushing Neji to his limits, the boy made his way over to the crater with the girl. She lay in it on her stomach, seemingly passed out as she tried to crawl forward.

"Sorry, but this is reality. There is a winner: me, and a loser: you," Neji stated. He then felt a pulse of chakra from the girl.

Naruko's hands gripped the edge of the crater, her body tensed up and she launched herself at the boy at such a high rate of speed that he could do nothing more than stupidly stare forward in shock until the top of the girl's head connected with his forehead and sent him flying into the nearby wall with enough force to crater it and leave him stuck in it for a few moments. When he fell to the ground, all he could do was twitch. He was completely defeated.

Right then and there, Genma decided to write a personal recommendation for Naruko to become a chūnin. Such a thing was rare, but the girl was too powerful to be a genin. By the murmurings of the crowd, he figured the council would find quite a few recommendations for the girl. A part of his mind told him it would never happen, that they would never give their 'weapon' such freedom. If this crowd and the council's stubborn stance against the girl kept up, the council's days were numbered in more ways than one. Of course, he would recommend her to NOT be a chūnin commander. She was a bit to hot headed to be a leader. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruko K!" he declared.

"How?" Neji gasped, "why are you here? The Kage Bunshin... That's a jōnin jutsu." He wanted this one mystery that his eyes had never unravelled to be answered. How could she use such a high class jutsu with only a single hand seal and be called the last placed genin of her class?

"Remember? I failed when you passed, and the time before, and just this year. A total of three failures. It's because the academy graduation exam always hinged on one jutsu: bunshin no jutsu, a jutsu I could never use," the girl explained. "Destiny decided this. Destiny decided that. All that garbage is just that, garbage. Stop crying and do something about it. You are a genius, not a loser like me. If I can do what I've done, you can do far more."

The crowd burst into applause and comments. Naruko ignored a few stray wolf whistles as she smiled at the crowd and gave them the peace sign. She then started to prance around like an idiot, blowing kisses to the crowd, much to some men and even a few women's delight. Genma allowed it since the Uchiha had yet to arrive.

_[Ten minutes later]_

The noise from the crowd was quite noticeable to everyone present.

Hiruzen chuckled. "Looks like they enjoyed Naruko and Neji's battle."

"No, I think they are more interested in the next fight," the Kazekage stated. Hiruzen frowned. Why did everyone shove her to the side so easily? He doubted that Sasuke could put up half that good of a fight. Gaara might be able to excite the crowd like that again, but Sasuke wouldn't. "That is the reason everyone is here, to see an Uchiha fight," the Kazekage finished. After a few moments, he looked over to his fellow Kage, "where is the Uchiha?"

Hiruzen frowned as yet another ninja told him that they had no luck finding either Sasuke or Kakashi. He then heard, for the third time, that Sasuke should be disqualified due to all the problems surrounding the boy.

"Give him a little more time," the Kazekage suggested.

"If he doesn't take this seriously, then he is unfit to be a chūnin," the shinobi who had updated Hiruzen on the search progress stated, "if we went by the rules from the very beginning, he would have long since been disqualified."

"Then listen to this. Everyone, civilian, daimyo, Kage and shinobi alike are all here to see Uchiha Sasuke's battle. If you don't give him a chance to arrive, how much support would Konoha lose?" the Kazekage asked, "that, and I want to see how my Gaara matches up to the Uchiha."

Hiruzen sighed, he was getting too old for this. "Fine, five more minutes," he ordered into his mic. Down on the arena floor, Genma nodded and stood there as the crowd glared at him.

The entire stadium waited an extra five minutes. With no sign of the boy, Genma received the order. "Attention!" he called to the crowd, "as stated by the rules, Uchiha Sasuke has been disqualified due to absence!" He ignored the crowd's heckling. "We will now move onto the next tier of the exams. Will Aburame Shino and Temari of Suna please come down now!"

The two arrived and silently stared at each other. "Semi-final battle 1, begin!" Genma shouted as he backed up, remembering Temari's wide attack range from the prelims.

Bugs swarmed out of Shino's sleeves as he moved forward. He knew of the girl's power, but if he could get some on her directly, he could win. Just in case, he directed a few swarms to circle around to catch the girl from behind.

"Nice try," Temari praised, then swung her fan down hard, "but it's not enough!" A furious wind blew around her, tossing Shino's bugs everywhere but at her.

_'Hmm. I didn't know she could produce the winds all around her person,'_ Shino thought, _'I can't get at her in any way now.'_ His head turned slightly to Genma. "Examiner-san, I have no way of defeating her at this time. I forfeit."

"Heh," Genma huffed out as he felt a bit of pride in the boy. To know when to call it quits was a sign of a chūnin. Looks like Shikamaru, Naruko and Shino would get a vote from him. "Winner: Temari!"

The blond girl was disappointed, but at least she still had some chakra left to fight. She turned and rushed up the stairs, wanting to save her strength and see her brother trounce that stupid redhead.

"Next match, Uzumaki Naruko K. and Gaara of the Sand, come down here!" Genma shouted. Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand and Naruko jumped down. "Semi-final match 2, begin!" Genma declared as he hopped out of range.

"Mother doesn't want you," Gaara muttered.

"Your mother can stuff it!" Naruko shouted back, "it's just you and me here, so no crying to mommy!"

Gaara didn't say anything as sand flowed out of his gourd like water. Without warning, he grabbed his head and started shaking. "I... He isn't here! No, I'll give you some blood. It's not Uchiha blood, but it's good enough for now," the boy muttered to himself as more and more sand floated around him. Just as suddenly as it happened, his issue passed and he stared at Naruko with his emotionally dead eyes. "Come, stain my sand with your filthy blood," he ordered, "try to put up a fight."

"Fine," Naruko growled as she threw kunai and shuriken at the boy. As expected, his sand blocked it all. To make matters worse, the sand took on Gaara's form and threw the weapons back at Naruko. The red kitsune tried to dodge, but a shuriken grazed her leg and slowed her considerably. To her horror, a pair of shuriken were thrown at her. She deflected these with a pair of kunai that she wielded backwards. Sadly, the girl still fell to the ground in a heap.

"You aren't enough," Gaara stated, "you aren't even worthy of staining my sands."

"Heh," Naruko chuckled, then burst into smoke.

"That's-" Gaara started, then got kicked in the cheek. Despite his automatic defence, the girl still pierced it and hit him. The blow was light, but it still cracked his sand armor a bit.

"Sand armor, like when you fought Lee. Do you always wear that?" Naruko asked as she assumed her race's fighting stance, "I'll just have to bust it all off then." Without even noticing it, the chakra from her tails was already acting on her, but at a very low level. Naruko tore forward as Gaara's sand rose up in defence. She swayed off to the side a little and swung her leg, hitting Gaara into his own sand wall. "What's the matter? Is that the fastest your sand can go?" Naruko taunted.

Everyone was stunned. _'It isn't the sand that's slow Naruko, you're just too fast for it,'_ Sakura thought as she struggled to keep up with her teammate's increasing speed.

Naruko ran at the boy again and again, stripping armor off with her clawed blows and kicks. After a few more hits, Gaara's sand rose up and caught the girl's arm. "Dammit!" Naruko growled as she jumped back, but the sand followed her and started creeping up her body. "No!" she shouted as half of her body was wrapped up in sand. It just kept coming.

"Yes," Gaara crowed as his sand armor repaired itself. The girl was now trapped in the sand. **"Sabaku Kyū,"** Gaara commanded as he closed his hand, crushing the girl.

To say everyone stopped at that moment was an understatement. A few minutes ago, the girl was prancing around like a total moron, now she was just paste and gristle in Gaara's sand.

Sakura's breath hitched and a tear started to roll down her cheek. Ino looked away in disgust and sadness. Even though Naruko had been annoying, she had often helped raise people's spirits. Had Hinata still been awake, she would have probably died on the spot. Shikamaru was staring at the boy who just killed his friend in cold blood.

Genma couldn't believe that she had been killed so easily. He didn't even get a chance to stop it from happening either.

"No...blood?"

All eyes turned to Gaara, who looked confused. "Why? Why aren't you bleeding!" the boy yelled as he repeatedly tried to crush the girl, "bleed! Bleed! BLEED! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

The sand repeatedly compacted, but something was obviously stopping it from delivering its usually fatal pressure.

"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" the boy wailed in confusion and pain. His head hurt like no tomorrow. "-"

BOOM!

Without warning, the sand coffin was consumed in a furious blast. Genma barely got out of the way of a smoking piece of debris that nearly took a chunk out of his neck. "What the- black glass?"

The crowd felt a heavy charge of chakra fill the entire arena. The shinobi who had been around at the time recognized the rough, uneven texture of the Kyūbi's chakra, but this was different. Whereas the chakra from thirteen years ago was vile to the point that it made civilians sick, this chakra felt... serene...sad... It commanded everyone's attention, much like a monarch standing before a crowd.

The area she had been imprisoned had the smoke cleared away with a sweeping wind. Standing in the center of the crater was Naruko, but she was different. Thick, flaming chakra was coming from her wrists, looking like dull red fur cuffs of some sort while the rest of the chakra was thin and looked like fire in zero gravity. There was a healthy glow to her skin and her hair shone like it was fire as it flowed with the chakra that lifted it. All in all, many would later call her striking later. Only one person would ever vocally describe her properly.

"A beautiful, fiery goddess," Lee muttered in amazement.

Gaara stared at the girl, so stunned by her appearance that he didn't notice his 'mother' screaming for the girl's blood. "How?" he asked.

Whoosh!

A swirl of leaves blew around and quickly cleared away to reveal Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke. Genma appeared between them and the fight. "You're too late," he stated, "Uchiha Sasuke, you have been disqualified. Please make your way to the staircase behind you."

Sasuke had been wondering why the crowd wasn't chanting his name or anything, now he knew why. His gaze snapped to the two fighters: his redheaded teammate and Gaara. "Wha... What did he do to her?" Sasuke demanded as he tried to get at the boy.

Genma caught the heir and completely halted his movements. "Nothing, well he tried to kill her, but that chakra of hers stopped his sand. What you see is all her," Genma explained. Sasuke calmed down and backed up towards the stairs. While he wanted to fight, to test himself, he had missed out on the chance. At least he had gained some more power and a new jutsu. There would always be the next time, the next mission.

"Why don't you die?" Gaara shouted as the screams for blood tore around in his head.

Naruko opened her eyes for the first time since the chakra coated her. Those eyes of hers were now filled with light, making them shine like slit purple moons. "Because I won't stop," Naruko said, "not until I become Hokage, not until I'm respected."

Gaara's sand swung before him, throwing a few sand shuriken at the girl. Naruko swung her arm, the chakra batting the sand away as it fused into black glass. His sand slid along the ground and flew through the air to wrap around the girl. She closed her eyes, then snapped them open as she swung her arm, a long flame sweeping through the sand and burning it into black glass almost instantly. The flame remained extended, almost like a flaming chakra sword.

_'What the hell is this? This has to be the highest level of chakra manipulation I've ever seen,'_ Genma thought in shock.

Gaara wordlessly roared as he summoned a large amount of sand, causing the arena floor to sink a good foot. "I'll crush you!" he wailed as he swung his hands down, the sand falling like a small tidal wave.

Before Genma could react, Naruko vanished in a flash of red and Gaara's eyes widened as he looked down at himself. Naruko had used Hiraishin again and had struck Gaara hard from multiple angles, destroying his sand armor like it wasn't even there. The boy had bruises, the first he had ever had. With his concentration broken by pain and shock, the sand fell back to the ground.

"Gaara. I'll end the nightmare," Naruko declared as she reappeared a few feet away from him.

"Just die!" Gaara shouted as he threw sand shuriken at the girl again.

Naruko stared at the projectiles and lifted her hand. A chunk of the ground tore up, burning into black glass from her chakra, becoming a shield for her.

Gaara saw the shield and kept pelting it with his sand in hopes of destroying it. He knew by now that his usual method of killing wouldn't work on the girl. If his sand shuriken became glass, they would still harm her as long as she didn't use the chakra to knock them away.

For a minute, sand smashed into the glass shield. Finally, a crack formed in it.

"A few more!" Gaara shouted, completely insane with bloodlust now, "a few more and I can spill your blood!"

The shield of glass broke in two and flew at Gaara, forcing him to use his shell of sand to protect himself. The sand eye floated in front of the shell as it closed up. "I'll kill you with my full power!" the demented boy declared as the shell closed up. The eye flew over to Naruko and she promptly swatted it out of the air with chakra, cutting Gaara's view of the outside world.

"This isn't good," Kankuro muttered to his sister, "he's completely lost it and forgot the plan."

Temari was worried that her brother might not escape the demon's clutches this time. "As long as he starts attacking Konoha, our plan will work out." She had to be cold or it would hurt worse if she lost her brother.

Naruko stared at the shell. It was as if time meant nothing to her anymore. Her movements were few and very slow unless she was using Hiraishin to move around. It was almost as if nothing could harm her the way she was now, or at least it seemed that Naruko believed that now.

"Come out Gaara," the girl called, "now." When nothing happened, Naruko sighed. "Fine, I'll bring you out then." With that, Naruko held her right hand out as the chakra blade reformed, becoming a long polearm. "This will pierce that shell and allow the light in," Naruko stated, then hefted the weapon back.

"Is that...a spear?" Genma questioned nobody in particular.

"**Kitsune Yari!"** Naruko shouted as she threw the dull red lance at the shell. It struck and went right through, coming out the other side with steam coming off the two edged prongs that formed the end of the spear.

"She hit him!" Temari screamed, "she hurt him! He's bleeding!"

Naruko stared at the shell as the spear faded away. For a brief moment, she saw a very strange eye. "Gaara...is that you?" she asked, even as something told her it wasn't him, not entirely.

After a moment or two, the shell fell apart and Gaara was revealed, as normal as he had been before and his eyes were back to being the way they had always been. He had a large wound in his right arm, blood pouring out of it.

Kankuro and Temari landed next to their little brother. "Come on, let's go!" Kankuro shouted as he grabbed one of Gaara's arms.

"Hey! You aren't allowed down here!" Genma shouted as he moved to intercept them.

Temari smirked. "Sorry, but we're taking our leave." She swung her open fan, blasting the Leaf-nin with a gust of air. When the gust was gone, so was the Suna team.

"Damn! We have...to..." Genma started, then started to fall prey to the genjutsu falling over the arena. He went to dispel it, but the jutsu already had a good hold on him.

A feather touched Naruko's chakra.

A girl found herself transfixed on the entire fight between the kitsune and the sand ninja. This girl was Yamanaka Ino, one of the few people privy to the knowledge of what Naruko was. This knowledge gave her a rough idea of what had happened to the girl, but it didn't prepare her for what her own body went through as she stared down at the girl.

Her throat became dry, her clothes felt too tight, her heart beat a mile a minute and a strange heat flooded her entire being. She found herself clutching the railing so hard that her knuckles were completely white. Her knees shook, seemingly strained by the simple act of standing. She didn't even notice that she had started to rub her legs together, almost as if she were cold.

_'What's wrong with me?'_ Ino thought as she tried to wet her lips, only to find that she had no saliva available to do so. Right now, she wanted to go down there and...

And what? Images flashed through Ino's mind and she shook her head to be rid of them. She had depicted herself and the girl who was currently wrapped in fire-like chakra doing some very kinky things, things girls shouldn't do with each other. Sure girls could experiment with kissing each other so they were ready for when they kissed a boy, but most of what went through Ino's head was just plain raunchy. Seeing herself and Naruko of all people tangled up in sweaty sheets was just plain wrong.

Despite everything she told herself, the images persisted and Ino found herself indulging in the fantasies that played out in her head. She kept licking her lips every once in a while, but it wasn't to wet them anymore.

The Kazekage's plan was simple. While everyone was marvelling over Gaara destroying whoever he was fighting, various Suna-nin in disguise would take up positions in the crowd. Their allies, the Oto-nin, would do the same. When the time came, both nation's ninja would use a genjutsu together to render most of Konoha's forces unconscious, making it easy to bind them for imprisonment. The remaining forces would be captured or killed and dealt with depending on their condition. That was the plan.

Plans have a way of falling apart.

The moment the feather of the genjutsu touched Naruko's unusual chakra, it surged in an effort to prevent its owner from being placed under the effects of the genjutsu. Sadly, the surge was so powerful that it blasted up, hitting the entire crowd and blasting a hundred feet into the air above the arena. What effect did this massive chakra surge have? The invaders arrived with the expectation of little to no enemy resistance. Thanks to Naruko's massive release of chakra, they found themselves jumping at readied kunai.

For Naruko, it meant the end of whatever power she was using. The chakra dissipated and she was back to being plain old Naruko, tailless vixen. She fell to her knees and gasped for air, feeling like she had just run a marathon against both Lee and Guy.

"Naruko!" Sasuke shouted as he ran over, "are you alright?" Naruko nodded. "This attack, those three had something to do with it," Sasuke muttered and ran forward.

"Wait!" Naruko shouted, stopping her teammate, "Gaara's not normal! Don't underestimate him!"

Sasuke smirked. "I don't underestimate anyone. Don't strain yourself dobette, leave this to me. I can defeat him." He took off after the fleeing sand siblings.

Naruko started crawling over to the stairs, hoping her growing strength would allow her to walk soon. "You've already underestimated him," the girl muttered, "it would take a very powerful shinobi to beat him. Or a bijū..." She got onto her feet, knowing she probably couldn't beat the boy on her own. She was a half baked bijū at best.

Across Konoha, numerous innocent visiting civilians suddenly turned into deadly shinobi intent on subduing anyone they could find. To make matters worse, a titanic snake with three heads erupted into existence just outside the walls, which it quickly stormed. Several ANBU watched helplessly as their Hokage was taken to a roof top and four strange shinobi erected a barrier to separate the Kazekage from the ninja sworn to protect him.

By the time Naruko made it up to the stands where Kakashi and Sakura were, she knew that the attack was bad.

"Huh? Naruko?" Kakashi gasped when the kitsune showed herself, "that huge burst of chakra, what was that?"

"I...don't know," the girl admitted, "I think it was trying to keep me awake."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Because of it trying to keep you awake, it put out enemy on bad footing. They're already losing ground here." He stepped back, avoiding a kunai to the neck, answering with his own kunai finding the Oto-nin's throat. "Naruko, Sakura, go find Shikamaru and follow Sasuke. This is an A-rank mission." While everyone was transfixed on the chakra spear Naruko had thrown, Kakashi had seen a strange appendage break out of Gaara's sand shell. That and the boy's chakra had the oddest texture, an inhuman feel to it.

"Shouldn't we find some others?" Sakura asked.

"No. With all the confusion, a team of four should be able to sneak through without too much trouble or resistance," Kakashi explained.

Sakura knew he was right. "So four... Wait? Whose the fourth member?" Hopefully, it was Kakashi-sensei himself.

Kakashi cut down another enemy ninja and lay him over a chair. **"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"** Kakashi shouted, summoning a small pug. "This is Pakkun. He is by far the greatest tracker in my list of summons. He will track Sasuke."

"A little dog is our fourth member?" Sakura asked, kind of disappointed. It wasn't even a cute or strong looking dog.

Pakkun hopped along the seats until he sat in Sakura's lap, staring up at her with his droopy eyes. "I'm no cute little dog," the dog stated.

"When did I say cute?" Sakura asked, freaked out that the dog was just as weird as the owner. Now that she looked, it seemed like a dog version of Shikamaru.

"Go find Shikamaru you two," Kakashi ordered.

Naruko and Sakura nodded and turned to leave, but Naruko saw the barrier and her eyes showed her who was within it. "Orochimaru!" she growled, then saw the other occupant, "Jiji? What's going on?"

Kakashi looked back at her. "Orochimaru is leading this attack. He disguised himself as the Kazekage and took Sandaime-sama to the central tower. The only thing that will happen there is a bloody battle."

"I'm not letting that hebi-teme kill the old man," Naruko growled and focused her chakra into the area before her heart as she held her hands in position, "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Shiratama, Sentō Kitsune." With those words, a ball of chakra moved forward and expanded until it burst and Shiratama floated to the ground, a large blade in the form of a ring hanging off her shoulder.

"Naruko-sama, you called?" the vixen asked as she opened her sharingan. She quickly took in the area and situation, "Naruko-sama, should I repel the invaders?"

"No," Naruko said, then turned and pointed at the barrier, "take down that barrier."

"I can't do that," Tama admitted, "but I can pass through it using my Mangekyō Sharingan."

Naruko smiled. "Alright. The man who put this mark on my neck is in there. 'Thank' him for me and assist the old man in there with him."

"Hiruzen-chan is in there? I haven't seen him in a few decades," the fox smirked, "I'll punish that serpent for laying his foul fangs on your flesh." The woman lifted the ring off her shoulder and jumped at the tower, covering the whole distance in three jumps.

"Now let's go get that Gaara guy," Naruko growled, "I won't let him kill Sasuke."

"Shikamaru first," Kakashi muttered, "then get to Sasuke and Gaara."

The two genin took off to find the third humanoid member of their team.

**A/N~**

**I've decided, Naruko will have a tail before part I is over. Hiruzen will survive the attack, but he'll step down and assign Jiraiya the 'honor' of finding Tsunade so she can be the next Hokage. This fic's chapters are now going to be released when I finish them. I hope to make it weekly or biweekly releases.**

**Character Into-**

Shiratama (Tama): A rare blue kitsune with two tails. Her title is 'Sentō Kitsune,' the Combat Fox. She possesses two dōjutsu, a sharingan and an unknown dōjutsu that she has almost permanently sealed behind an eye patch. Wields a ring blade. Obviously formed a contract with a human at one point, but it is unknown if she is still bound to it. Age is unknown, but she is over a hundred years old since she remembers Konoha's creation as a young kit. As expected, she is a combat specialist, adviser to the Kyūbi, a teacher and a little bit of a historian. Her Mangekyō Sharingan's special power allows her to pass through most barriers by forming a barrier of matching chakra around her body.

**Jutsu Index-**

**Kitsune Yari:** A technique that forms a spear from pure, compressed chakra. It has more than enough power to rip through Gaara's sands and deal damage to him. Due to it being formed from pure demonic chakra, it burns what it cuts and is highly effective against a human or jinchūriki's chakra and jutsu. Can't be used unless Naruko is in a specific state.

**Responses-**

**Sky Zephyrus:** Truth be told, I kinda get sucked into writing and I sometimes forget about this fic because I am suffering from NaruSakuIno withdrawal, so I focus more on KTD. While it isn't NaruSakuIno, it sates my addiction to the mentioned pairing for some odd reason, probably because it involves Ino, (ommited canon girl's name) and her little kitten of love in addition to Naruto and Sakura love. Funny thing is that this fic is NaruSakuIno and would be better, but I said I tend to forget it.

KTD is also my baby project. This fic was thrown together due to my extreme displeasure that He said, she said is strictly FemNaruSaku when it could easily be FemNaruSakuIno. I decided that, rather than absorb the Kyūbi like in the before mentioned fic, Naruko had been the Kyūbi all along in an incredibly advanced henge. Then I came up with the whole birth of bijū concept and went from there.

That and I got a cosmic beat down recently that I talked about in KTD chapter 21.

As for Naruko being an empress, that might not be the best thing to happen for Konoha. You'll see why in Part II.

**SuperNeos2:** So did the shopkeeper and Ino. In fact the shopkeeper wants more! Ino's too tsundere to admit that she wants more steamy kitsune action as well.

**gaara king of the sand:** Sage mode? Why would I give her something that she could transcend? No, she won't gain sage mode in this, though the toads will assist her in gaining control of her power. You saw a part of it this chapter as well as a less desirable power. Basically, the canon jinchūriki forms that Naruto used in the original are not forms Naruko should have due to the danger of them.

**ShadowCub:** Someone complained about yuri? Were they lobotomized or something? The only complaint I will accept about yuri is that there isn't enough!

Jiraiya: OH YEAH! (gives two thumbs up, then gets his notepad out)

Uh, I think I'll keep myself in line for now. Now for Tsunade catching them peeping... Heh! (smirks wickedly) That might be a better way to find her than coincidentally meeting at a bar.

**DarkLordK:** We need more yuri in the Naruko section! Damn, the combinations are limitless! Just to cover all the bases, Naruko/Harem! Hmm, maybe I'll make that later on. Just pair Naruko up with all my favorite characters. I'm doing a Naruto version, though I'm limiting it to 9 girls, so why can't I do a Naruko version?

**Ladygoddess8:** Tama was originally created as a minor character, but I decided to expand her role. Her covered eye will be revealed later, a dōjutsu of my own creation. It's overpowered as hell, but it has drawbacks that actually make it the least desired kekkai genkai ever. And yes, she will beat patience into that rock we all call Naruko's head, but it won't be til Part II that we get to see it.

**chm01:** I do believe that I said something about Sakura not accepting Naruko so quickly. People will want me to slit the fan girl's throat later, but I won't.

As for a snapping point, I got a really short fuse when it comes to anger. I normally walk away from the BS, but it has a bad habit of following you around in high school. Thank god I dropped out when I did or I would have eventually killed somebody. Now that I think about it. Don't you find it funny that people spread rumors around that a guy has killed people or is insane and will snap without warning, but they then pick on him all the time? It's like they want to get killed.

I did get my high school diploma, but it was not at a high school. Could have gone to college on a literary scholarship, but I turned it down. Too much stress. I might do it later, but the professor will have to deal with my brand of writing.

**Lazy Eyes Conway:** Thanks for the encouragement. As I always say, my fics will continue, doesn't mean everyone gets to read them. I get pissed off over a long enough time and I'll halt the story for a while and let people suffer while I keep writing and enjoying my fics. Yes, I read my own fanfics.

**Firestar001:** How's this chapter's originality? Part II will be a little different for reasons I will not spoil. I've got a bare bones idea of how this fic is going to go in Part II and I'll build on it as I read further along. (memo to self: read up to volume 30 or so to help plan all current and future fics better) One thing I can tell you is that Naruko will have both fire and wind affinities. She will also be wearing a very different outfit, which I think I described last chapter. I'll tweak it later. First change: I'm thinking red, more like a few shades of red. I'll keep thinking about it.

**ddcj1990 & god of all:** Thanks and updated.

**Deathgeonous:** Thanks.

**Spazzyninjafish:** Gymnastics... That explains it. Gymnasts, like surfers, tend to have evenly distributed strength that most people don't possess.

Honestly, you sound like me in the fighting category. You're a natural born fighter if you can dodge, counter attack and effectively land pulled blows in openings. As for what I call that spontaneous fighting... I don't know. I know it is just for fun since it seems neither of you get hurt, so the only thing I can think of calling it is play fighting. As for a headlock, don't break the lock, attack the locker. If your sister is ticklish, then just tickle her until the headlock loosens enough.

Hmm, so you really have sat on your ankles before... Maybe your body is used to such strains from surfing and gymnastics or you just have a natural tolerance for it. Walking with numb legs is easy, just make sure to watch where your feet go since you can easily trip over the smallest things. As long as all the right muscles function, I can walk. I've powered through pain, numbness, twisted ankles, a drill wound to my shin, nails and glass stuck in my feet and most recently a muscle cutting wound to my foot. For lack of a better term, I'm a juggernaut. I've always been a fast moving tank type person my whole life. You'd have to knock me out or break my legs to put me down for an extended period of time.

Ah, fixing me. I don't think its possible, not anymore. I've met people, women who could have helped me, but this is my problem and I don't want to burden them with something they don't need, so I kept them at arm's length. Even when a girl showed interest in me, I'd pretend I didn't notice or I'd tell them I appreciate their feelings, but I wasn't ready for a relationship. I've been broken like this for thirteen years now and I think I'll be like this for however long I live. I'm terrified to hell and back of death, so there is no need to worry about me hurting myself or killing myself. I only get depressed when my mind starts to imagine how my life could have been if I was different, if I had told my high school crush my feelings, stuff like that.

I decided long ago when I learned of my short temper that I would never get into a relationship, all so I could protect people. I'd rather suffer on my own rather than possibly ruin one or more lives by having a lover. Besides, I'm not relationship material. There are things that a person just isn't capable of in this world and me being the man a woman calls her lover isn't one of them.

Final thing, I had a sneaking suspicion you were a girl. Don't know why, but I can sometimes tell these things. Don't know if you know this or not, but I'm a guy. I have to clear that up a lot online since most people say I seem more like a girl than a guy.

**MrUnclePeanuts:** I know. Don't you see the 'Naruko U.' next to Ino's name?

**Ookami prince:** (sighs deeply) I thought you would lighten up on the insanity by now, but I was wrong. No offence, but it seems like you're either some gaki at the keyboard trying to act all big and bad after you got lost in some fantasy land or you need some serious meds.

And I wouldn't check you're profile anyways since it seems like it would probably just contain more of your ranting.


	8. Chapter 8

Pre-chapter A\N: Sorry for the delay. Would have posted this on Tuesday, the day I finished writing it, but I got into a bit of a depressive state and didn't want to do much of anything until yesterday, when it snapped. Kind of hard to want to do anything when you get three hours of sleep every night and feel like Rocky's punching bag every waking moment.

Anyways, fresh from the sort of snowy white North (it just snowed) I give you the latest chapter of Kyūbi's Kit!

Chapter 8: Evened Odds

**Disclaimer: Owning the rights to Naruto...a pipe dream for all fanfiction writers, myself included.**

Hiruzen discarded his Hokage robes as his former student did so as well.

"Perfect," Orochimaru hissed when he saw Hiruzen's armor, "a warrior deserves to die in his battle armor. Makes for a great looking corpse."

A pair of ninja were outside the barrier, discussing how to break through it. The only way they could see their Hokage escaping was to take out one of the four barrier making ninja, but they threw up a barrier to protect them from the fight.

Neither of them noticed Shiratama until she stopped before the barrier, staring at it. After a short while, chakra wrapped around her and she passed through the barrier as if it wasn't there.

Shiratama arrived as a massive swarm of shuriken flew at a pale skinned man. She watched as a coffin rose to block the projectiles, then got joined by a second. When the third came up, she moved next to Hiruzen as he drove as many shuriken into it as possible to make it fail. He succeeded and only two coffins opened to reveal their contents.

"Senju Hashirama-sama and Senju Tobirama-sama," Shiratama greeted as she bowed slightly, "it has been a long time."

The two men looked at those who stood before them. "Is that you, monkey? You've aged..." Tobimaru said.

"Shiratama, you've grown into a fine woman. Who's your summoner now?" Hashirama asked.

"I have no summoner anymore. The Sanban Kyūbi, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko-sama is my mistress," Shiratama stated.

Orochimaru's eyes widened. _'Sanban Kyūbi? Uzumaki-Namikaze?'_ he thought as he began to shake slightly, _'I put my mark on her, so I can take her over at a later date.'_ He nearly slobbered at the thought, a bijū's immortal body and all that chakra. And if her last name said anything, that detestable man who stole what he had once thought was his rightful place had something to do with her. To possess the Hiraishin... Orochimaru was close to having a seizure at the thought.

Tobirama looked over at the serpentine man who was dreaming of all the power he could wield. "So that boy summoned us with my mistake? Quite an accomplishment," he looked back to Hiruzen and Shiratama, "guess that means we are enemies. Oh well, I always wanted to fight you two once. Death almost took that from me." Hashirama nodded, indicating that he too wished for a match with the two.

"Enough with the old age home babble," Orochimaru hissed as he held a kunai with a tag to each revived man's head, "just destroy the old man."

"Ages pass and the land is reshaped by the elements, but war never changes," Hashirama mused as his will started to fade.

"Using the dead as your weapons, you won't die anywhere near a peaceful death," Hiruzen stated.

Orochimaru just smiled as he shoved the kunai into the revived Hokages' heads, then focused some chakra into the weapons. "Let's make you two a bit more presentable before we being," the snake muttered as the men were restored, "now my tools are ready to kill." He smirked at Hiruzen's glare. "Enjoy fighting and killing your masters, all so you will know how I will feel in a few moments!"

Hiruzen and Tama moved forward.

"**Katon: Karyū Endan!"** Hiruzen shouted as he spat up a fireball at his former sensei.

Tobirama went through the seals. **"Suiton: Suijinheki!"** he muttered as he released water from his mouth, creating a wall around himself, his brother and Orochimaru.

"My turn," Tama stated as she swung her ring blade down in the ground before her. She let her yōki flow around her body, forming white flames around her. The flames gathered into a couple balls of flame. **"Kitsunebi!"** she roared, seemingly using her two tails to push the flames at the men. The flames gathered together, forming into a pouncing fox.

Tobirama calmly used a water dragon bullet to crush her fire attack as well as attempt to hit his opponents. Hiruzen countered by creating an earth wall. "We need a pla-" Hiruzen started.

"**Mokuton Hijutsu..."** Hashirama stated, chilling both the kitsune and the current Hokage, **"Jukai Kōtan."**

The area was suddenly turned into a small forest. Hiruzen attempted to dodge the growing trees, but he was caught anyways. Tama managed to evade the growing trees and came down, slashing the tree growing around Hiruzen, her unusual weapon burning with white fire, killing the trees.

"Ah, the infamous flames of Shiratama, Konoha's guardian kitsune," Orochimaru muttered to himself, "the only flames said to be able to completely burn away the powerful mokuton. The flames that are said to accompany Shinigami himself."

"Shut up you coward!" the fox shouted, "Hiruzen! Call on Enma!"

Hiruzen summoned the monkey king, who glared at Orochimaru. "I told you years ago: kill him!" Enma shouted.

"That is what we are doing now," Hiruzen stated, "I need a weapon..."

Enma grinned. "Alright. **Henge: Kongōnyoi!**" He became a long, thick pole arm.

Orochimaru opened his mouth and a snake came out, opening its own mouth so the handle of a sword could slide out. Orochimaru took the weapon and dragged it out, letting the snake slide back down his throat afterward.

"Even like this, that sword is going to leave a few marks," Enma warned.

"Stay back," Hiruzen said to the kitsune that had been born with Konoha, then jumped forward at the two founders of said village with the aid of the Kongōnyoi. He brandished the weapon, forcing the two men to evade. With them off guard, he pointed his staff forward and it shot straight at Orochimaru, who blocked it with ease. Just as Orochimaru thought the attack stopped, Enma's head came out of the staff, fangs ready to rip his face off. His attack was halted when the Senju brothers kicked Hiruzen back.

"A reckless charge without a single kage bunshin? Even Naruko-chan is smarter than that," Orochimaru hissed. Ever since learning of the girl's secrets, his interest in her had only spiked higher and higher. "So what's wrong with 'the professor,' the man said to know every jutsu in Konoha? You're disappointing me..."

BANG! BANG!

The explosive tags that Hiruzen had set onto the Senju brothers' legs went off, obliterating their legs. The damage quickly reversed itself.

"Hiruzen, the Edo Tensei revives the body and constantly repairs it unless the souls are released or sealed. You know this," Tama chastised, "a tag on their head or torso would have been more effective..."

"You're right, I need to seal them," Hiruzen muttered. He got up and started to focus his chakra.

"Old age is such a pain, isn't it?" Orochimaru asked. He couldn't help himself and started to laugh at his sensei.

"What's so funny?" Hiruzen asked.

"Kami no Shinobi is nothing more than a title. He who holds it will still wither and die," Orochimaru stated as he grabbed his face, then tore it off to reveal a younger, female face.

"A decoy?" Tama growled as she readied her blade, "where's Orochimaru?"

"Kukuku. I'll admit I was quite shocked myself the first time, but it is I, Orochimaru," the woman stated.

Hiruzen stared at his former student. "So you've gone and done it, a kinjutsu to make yourself immortal. That greed is why you were never chosen to be Hokage."

"There isn't a drop of human blood in me, but I'm more human than he is," Tama muttered as she gripped her weapon tightly.

"The Fushi Tensei is a kinjutsu that has allowed me to continue on in this world without facing the effects of old age. It does require me to find a new body to use every once in a while," Orochimaru explained, "the reason I altered my face was so you could recognize me." He/she stared at the man for a while, then smirked. "Aging. Seeing you as a relic of a gone age, I now know why I need to be immortal. I'll kill you here and obtain a perfect, beautiful new body. Konoha, whether willingly or not, has always been the most fun for me and my experiments."

"So Sasuke is your next body," Hiruzen stated. Orochimaru's chuckle told him that he was right. "Stealing bodies to continue your twisted existence, how many bodies have you gone through so far?"

"Hmm. I think this is my second body, or maybe my third. It doesn't matter, after Sasuke is more to my liking, he will be my new body," Orochimaru hissed. The sannin replaced his face, showing the one everyone was familiar with. "Now sensei, time to die and regret everything you have ever done." Hashirama performed another, much larger mokuton to fill the entire barrier with trees.

Hiruzen guarded himself by having Enma turn into a cage while Tama glared at the growing trees. "I don't like destroying nature..." she muttered as the trees closed in on her.

"Shinobi no Kami and Konoha's guardian, both felled due to carelessness. Such a disappointment," Orochimaru hissed, "had you thrown away any mercy, you may have been able to kill me long ago."

"**Before these flames, life cannot thrive."**

White fires ripped through the trees, incinerating them in moments. Orochimaru dodged out of the way with his puppets. The flame hit the barrier, cracking it with the shear force and ferocity of the fire.

Orochimaru frowned. "That Shi Furea is starting to annoy me."

Tama walked through the flames, which parted to give her passage. "Get used to it. I catch you in them, I'll let them eat you whole."

"Tama! It is my duty to end this!" Hiruzen shouted.

The fox looked back at him. "No, this is my duty. Konoha's continued existence was once my purpose. By letting this man live, from who I felt a destiny of evil, I failed," she explained, "and I'm not letting you kill yourself to end this."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. "You...knew?"

"Of course I knew. I can feel him already, a sign that you wish to use that jutsu," Tama said, then had her fires form a twisted cage around Hiruzen and Enma, shielding them from harm, "but as you are now, it is impossible to call on him."

"Oh, so you wish to add yourself to my collection of Konoha's founders?" Orochimaru asked.

"I didn't found Konoha, I was born alongside it," Tama corrected, "and I seem to notice a critical piece missing from your collection. What's the matter, find it hard to control that clan?"

Orochimaru hissed. It was true, Uchiha were very hard to control no matter what he tried. And summoning that man would be the same as committing suicide. "It doesn't matter, the former Hokage will destroy you," Orochimaru hissed.

"You chose the wrong men," Tama stated as fire surged off her ring blade, "water, earth and wood all vanish before fire..."

New growth tried to seize the kitsune, but a swing of her blazing weapon reduced the trees to ash. A water dragon rushed at her, but she threw her ring blade through it, cutting it in two and reducing it to steam.

"Heh. Got you!" Orochimaru shouted as he appeared behind her, Kusanagi aimed at her neck. The woman survived the stab by turning into a flaming kitsune and Orochimaru got first hand experience with the Shinigami's flames when her burning weapon tore through his waist, cutting him in two. In spite of the damage, he used snakes to pull himself back together and retreated, knowing that her weapon acted like a boomerang. "Why go so far for those who shun your master?"

Tama caught her ring blade. "So what if they shun her? They will come to know later and accept her as Konoha's protector. The reason I protect them is because anyone born within this forest is my younger sibling. Little brothers and sisters, a massive family that I, as a guardian born for duty, should never have. In spite of everything you have done, you are counted amongst my kin. It pains me greatly to kill a brother, no matter how twisted and evil he is."

"And it gives me great pleasure to kill you, onee-san," Orochimaru hissed as his tongue rolled out of his mouth.

"You want power? How about I show you the greatest power I have? I'll burn it straight into your soul," Tama growled.

"Kukukuku. Show me!"

Tama started to revolve her ring blade like it was a child's toy, even throwing it up into the air a few times while she spun like a dancer beneath it. She flung it high up, the blade forming a perfect ring above her. "Now you'll die," she said as the ring dropped, a pillar forming to hide her from Orochimaru's eyes.

Orochimaru stared at the flaming pillar. "So you intend to bore me to death?"

"No," Tama growled as the flames vanished, revealing her arms and ankles wrapped in flames, her kimono sleeves ruined from the fire. Her two tails swayed slightly in the air, "I'll just rip you apart."

"How so?" Orochimaru asked.

Tama reached up and took a hold of her eye patch, smoke rising off her hand as she touched the metal. The flames seemed to...retreat, almost as if fearful of the patch. "With this."

Enma changed back into ape form. "I'm so happy we're in here and not out there."

Orochimaru was about ask what he meant when Tama pulled the eye patch off. After a moment, she lifted her gaze to Orochimaru, her left eye still shut tight.

"Is that it?" Orochimaru asked with a raised eye brow, "from the feel of that eye patch and the fact that it burnt you, I thought your yōki would increase."

"If you value your life, run now," Tama stated. When Orochimaru didn't move, she sighed and opened her eye, "**Kyō no me..."**

Orochimaru stared at her eye. The 'Berserker Eye?' What the hell? Her iris was blood red and the pupil was slit shaped, but nothing else changed about her. "You bo-"

Tama rushed forward, sweeping her flaming hand at Orochimaru's neck. He dodged and had to move away as she swept at him again. "You two, get her!" he ordered.

The Senju brothers used their jutsu and Tama tore through them with reckless abandon, driving her hands through Hashirama's chest and tearing him in two. She seized the kunai and destroyed it, freeing the man from Orochimaru's jutsu. Even as his body was reduced to ash and the corpse of Zaku of the Oto genin team, Tama kept brutalizing what was left.

"Madness," Orochimaru muttered. It seems there was a Kekkai Genkai he could do without.

Tobirama started going through the seals for the most powerful suiton of them all, but Tama mindlessly roared and jabbed her hand forward, extending a flame sword from her hand and into the Shodai Hokage's head. She ripped the blade free and then slammed it into the ground before her, filling a third of the barrier with fire and debris.

Orochimaru came out unscathed thanks to his body shedding, but he couldn't do it again. He quickly took aim and extended Kusanagi to strike the girl's heart. Instead of hitting his target, Tama grabbed the approaching blade and it went through her stomach. "Dammit!" the sannin grunted. Tama growled and held the blade still, making it so any increases or decreases in the blade's length would not help Orochimaru at all. "What are you doing now?" Orochimaru demanded.

"Sh-Sh-Sh..." the woman tried, but it seemed speech was difficult in her current state, "Shi-Shi-Shi..."

"Heh. Mindless beast. A relic like you should vanish into history," Orochimaru chuckled.

"**Shi...Shikei..."** the Nibi Kitsune growled as her gaze locked onto Orochimaru's chest.

At first, he wondered what was going on, but a terrible burning sensation struck where she was staring. "DAMMIT!" he roared as he forcibly dragged his sword back and gripped his chest. As soon as he did, a strange feeling spread through his chest. _'This feeling? Poison? No, disease! How?'_

"Enjoy what little life you now have left," Enma said from the cage of fire he and Hiruzen were in.

Orochimaru snapped his gaze to the king of monkeys. "What do you mean old monkey?"

"Shikei, the only jutsu that Shiratama knows. It is, as its name implies, a death sentence to any it is placed on," Hiruzen sagely stated, "with that seal on you, not even the hounds of Hell could give you as good a chase as she can. It will rob you of more and more life until it finally kills you, or she kills you. Either way, you're dead."

Orochimaru felt the sickening pain spread a bit. "Just wait and see, this won't kill me! I'm immortal! Next time you see me, I'll have the ultimate body, an Uchiha's body!"

The four shinobi who had erected the barrier dropped it and they and their master fled the village, leaving the remaining Oto-nin and Suna-nin to fend for themselves.

The cage of fire fell apart and Enma turned back into his staff form. "It pains me greatly to knock you out," Hiruzen said to the deranged, wounded kitsune, "I'll try to finish this before you bleed or injure yourself too much."

Tama roared as she leapt at the Hokage, flame sword ready to extinguish his life.

_[A while back, Arena]_

Two kunoichi and pug quickly found Shikamaru lying on the ground, a crack in the wall he was near. "Dammit, he just had to get knocked out early," Naruko grumbled.

Crunch.

"OUCH!" Shikamaru howled after Pakkun bit his ankle. To the shock of Naruko and Sakura, the dog started to pull at the much larger boy, actually dragging him a foot before he was yanked off and held up by the normally lazy genin.

"Shikamaru! Pretending to be knocked out to avoid a fight, that's low!" Sakura shouted.

"I don't care! I'm not going on a mission," Shikamaru protested, keeping everything away from the suspended pug's mouth.

Pakkun sighed. "I hate pulling out my trump card... Listen, if you take this mission," the pug stated in a way that spoke of great reward, "I'll let you touch my paw." With that, the dog raised its right foreleg to reveal the still pink pad of his paw.

"Why...would I want to touch that?" Shikamaru deadpanned as his eye brow twitched in annoyance.

_[Ten minutes later]_

"Not even Kami Herself can resist my paw," Pakkun called from the front of the procession of ninja traveling through the trees.

_'I didn't give a damn about your paw,'_ Shikamaru mentally grumbled, _'I just didn't want Ino, Sakura and my mom on my ass later for ditching this mission. Probably Naruko too. Troublesome women...'_

Pakkun moved faster than before. "Hurry it up!" he shouted, "we got...eight, no, nine people on our tails."

"Already? Damn!" Shikamaru cursed.

"I don't think they know exactly where we are, but they're coming fast and are most likely wary of ambush," Pakkun said.

"Chunin then. They catch us and we're dead," Shikamaru stated.

"Let's give them that ambush they're looking for then!" Naruko shouted.

"While it is true that an ambush would give us a significant advantage, we'd have to eliminate them quickly or they'd regroup and destroy us," Shikamaru said.

"Don't bother," Pakkun muttered, "they're Orochimaru's subordinates, meaning that they know these forests almost as well as you do."

"The mutt's right" Shikamaru groaned, "these guys are probably expert chasers and they've been shown special maps that only shinobi of Konoha would have access to. Even with Pakkun's nose, we couldn't set up a good enough ambush to take them all out. Besides, our squad is all screwed up."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "We're a dog, an idiotic redhead, a generic kunoichi and an expert of running away from troublesome things, me." He thought for a few moments. "After thinking things through, I only got one working plan."

"What plan?" Sakura asked.

"A decoy. One of us will stay behind and delay the enemy with a false ambush," Shikamaru stated, "with them delayed, the other two will be able to escape without being traced. The bad part of this plan is that the decoy will most likely die." He let that sink in before continuing. "Pakkun is needed for the chase, so who'll be the decoy? Any takers?"

"I-" Naruko began.

Shikamaru sighed. "Guess it'll be me," he said in monotone.

"What?" Naruko gasped.

Sakura was stunned. "Why?"

"Think about it. The decoy needs to be silent and strong enough to slow them down long enough for the others to escape. Naruko couldn't ambush a blind, deaf and retarded dog. Sakura's too weak to beat Ino in a head on fight," Shikamaru explained as the pinkette fumed, "besides, my family jutsu were originally made for delaying the enemy. I'm also the fastest at running away, so I might just make it out of this." He stopped hopping along the trees and faced back towards their home and the Oto team. "I'll catch up later, so get going!"

"You better!" Naruko shouted, then her and Sakura took off after Pakkun.

Shikamaru sighed after they were gone. "Women and their expectations. Troublesome." He then went in a slightly different direction to lure the Oto-nin into a trap.

_[With Gaara and Sasuke, fifteen minutes later]_

Having tried to force a third chidori, Sasuke was finished. While his opponent was injured, it seemed nothing would stop this constantly evolving monster. Even now the insane genin jumped at him, sand claw ready to tear boy and tree apart.

"Not happening!" Naruko shouted as she kicked Gaara in his messed up face. He fell off the branch and crash landed on his shoulder.

Sakura arrived to find Sasuke being attacked by his curse seal again.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruko shouted, getting the girl's attention, "who...what the hell is that?" The kitsune was pointing at Gaara, who had transformed into an almost unrecognizable form.

"It's that Gaara kid," Pakkun stated. He then looked over at Sakura. "Don't let my looks deceive you, I'm no fighter."

"You look weak!" Sakura shouted.

"_**You..."**_ Gaara growled as he glared at Naruko, _**"you're that woman who hurt me... I'll kill you! I'll kill you and I'll never get never die!"**_

Naruko remembered how crazy this guy was. "Sakura-chan! Get Sasuke and run!"

Gaara had already shot passed her and slammed Sakura into a tree, pinning her down with his sand arm. Naruko took Sasuke and moved him away in spite of wanting to help Sakura.

"_**What's wrong? Weren't you going to run in fear?"**_ Gaara asked, **_"why do they matter?"_**

"They're my friends. If you hurt them," Naruko growled, some of her darker chakra filtering into her system, "I'll make you regret it forever."

"AHH!" Sakura screamed as the sand tightened.

"_**Funny, I don't regret anything,"**_ Gaara said with a twisted smirk.

"That's it!" Naruko shouted as she jumped at the ninja, only to be bashed away by his sand tail.

"_**What the? Where's that strength that you used before? That spear that pierced my arm, that sword that cut my sands, was it all a fluke?"**_ Gaara asked.

_'I don't know what happened that time,'_ Naruko thought. She had no choice but to try and summon. A fox wouldn't be good since Tama was fighting and Kanko had no combat abilities. She'd have to summon Gamabunta. **"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"** Naruko shouted as she summoned the great, the powerful-

"Sup bro, er sis?" an almost normal sized toad in a jacket asked, "where's the candy? I ain't doing anything without my candy."

Naruko's eye brow twitched in annoyance. "You toads are so lame."

Gaara had enough of everything and made himself known. _**"Friends... Such a stupid reason to fight. The only reason to fight is for yourself. Let me show you."**_ With that, Gaara's entire face, his arm and a lot of his body were covered in sand. He broke his claw in two, leaving Sakura held up on the tree by sand. _**"Beat me or that sand will keep squeezing and squeezing until she explodes in a bloody mess!"**_

Gaara unleashed a volley of sand shuriken, forcing Naruko to grab the tiny toad and run. In spite of trying to escape, she was still caught in the attack and thrown into a tree.

"Damn, you're weak," the toad grumbled.

"Can it," Naruko growled.

"What the hell is he?" the toad asked while looking at Gaara.

Naruko lifted her gaze to see that only Gaara's feet and ankles remained, the rest was his demon.

"_**Scared? That's what happens when you chose to fight for others. If you fought for only yourself, you'd be able to fight me on even ground,**_" Gaara growled, **_"come, give in to the rage from when you fought the Hyūga and me, use that power to try and destroy me! Rage is the key to that wonderful strength!"_**

Naruko went to use kage bunshin, but found herself swallowed up in a sand storm. With her blinded and off balance, Gaara pelted her repeatedly with sand shuriken, trying his best to kill her. Despite saying he'd play with her, trying to make her abandon her friends just to fight him, he was dealing some serious damage to her.

After a couple painful hits, Naruko got up. "Why is it that I don't want to lose to you?" she asked. She straightened herself out and summoned a few shadow clones. "New jutsu, my special talent!" she shouted as she and the clones jumped forward, "this one is taijutsu."

Gaara smashed his hand into the clones, not realizing that it was a feint until the girl was thrown at him by a few clones. When he employed his other claw to cut her down, she produced another clone to get behind him.

"You'll never be the same after this!" Naruko shouted as she took aim with a kunai, "**Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ōgi: Sennen Goroshi!"**

Thunk.

Nobody was amused that Naruko had just, for lack of a better term, shoved a kunai into Gaara's sand covered ass.

"Ehhhh~" she whined, "it didn't work?"

WHAM!

Naruko flew away and would have slammed into a tree if Sasuke hadn't thrown himself between the girl and the tree.

Fiss!

"Hehe. It did work," the girl chuckled, "bang!"

Gaara found himself consumed in an explosion, point of ignition: his own ass. The kunai had been rigged with an exploding tag and it just so happened the Naruko had set it off in the one spot of his mini-Shukaku form was weak, right under the tail. Even now, more than half the sand armor was falling apart.

"After all that boasting, one lucky hit?" Sasuke muttered to the girl, "try training some time."

"I DO train," Naruko pouted.

Sasuke smirked. "This isn't Wave, I can't spend all my time saving you Dobette."

Naruko refused to look at the boy. "Shut up. I was saving you!"

"Listen Naruko," Sasuke said in a serious tone, "you free Sakura and run from here. I'll hold him off long enough for you two to get to safety." He got to his feet. "I won't let what's important to me vanish again while I sit around doing nothing."

Naruko stood up, images flowing through her head. "At first, I thought he was strong because he was always alone, but now I know better. He's weak, pathetically weak. Because the only thing he fights for is himself, he will never be strong." She remembered how Haku had said that protecting someone gave you strength, and here were Sasuke and Sakura. Naruko was protecting them, so that meant...

"I'll...never lose to you!" Naruko growled, her eyes glowing and chakra swirling around her body.

_'W-what the hell?'_ Sasuke thought as the force of Naruko's chakra physically pushed him away from her, _'was she always this strong? Is this really the same girl who couldn't use bunshin no jutsu?'_

"**Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Naruko shouted as hundreds of Naruko clones filled the area. She was wondering what the 'Tajū' part meant though. It just kind of came to her lips without her knowing.

If Gaara's sand jaw wasn't already falling off, it would have started to do so. Temari was suddenly interested in finding out exactly how hard Gaara hit her and if she had any brain damage from said blow. Pakkun was just stunned that someone could produce more than thirty clones and survive. Sasuke didn't know a person could make so many clones. The toad was impressed.

"Everyone in your family tree, past and present, is going to feel this," Naruko announced, "everyone, get him!"

Gaara had never had any real friends in life. His contact with girls was extremely limited, pretty much just his sister. He suddenly found several hundred redheads jumping at him. They opened up with a pelting of kunai, probably pay back for all the sand he chucked at her, then several kicked him up and off the branch he was on while they chanted the girl's last name. After that, he found himself struck from every possible angle by fist and foot, receiving far more damage than he ever though possible. Just when he thought it was over, four girls uppercut him and his now mishappen sand armored body into the air. To truly finish him off, six Naruko came down with spinning kicks, throwing him into the ground with enough force for him to take damage through his armor.

"That was just my new **Uzumaki Naruko Nisen Rendan**, I'm not through with you yet!" Naruko shouted as they all jumped down.

"_**NO!"**_ Gaara roared, destroying the clones and much of the area as he formed a full sized Shukaku body.

Naruko found herself, once again, wrapped in Gaara's sand. She knew she was tapped out, her body's chakra strained to its limits. She had no choice but to force her tails again. Even one would help if it brought out Gamabunta, her only hope of fighting the demon.

"**Sabaku Kyū_!"_** the sand demon body shouted. He was shocked that he needed to use this form to kill her. He could understand it if she was using that strange power from before, but the way she was now? She shouldn't be worth it.

"**Kuchiyose no jutsu!"**

The desert coffin was torn apart as a toad the size of Shukaku forced it open. Standing on its head was Naruko, flaming chakra coming from her right wrist. "Even if I'm almost dead, I'll protect her!" the girl shouted.

"Again?" the boss toad questioned, "how the hell can such a small gaki call me out? Wasn't last time a fluke?" He then noticed the rather large raccoon dog before him.

"Boss! Help me beat him down?" the Empress of the Kitsune asked from atop the toad's head. Wait, didn't she have a higher standing than him, no pun intended.

"Not. Happening," the boss toad stated.

"What! Why!" Naruko shouted.

The toad sighed. "Shukaku, that thing in front of us, is a bijū. While he may be the weakest and most pitiful of them all, he is still one. Add to it that he's nothing more than a walking, murderous sand dune that can endlessly reform himself, that makes it a little difficult for me." He then looked at Naruko. "You haven't sat down to drink with me either, so the whole boss thing ain't official yet."

"I'm not of age!" the girl wailed.

It was then that he felt the chakra flowing out of her wrist. _'The hell? Kurama? Isn't he completely dead? Oh yeah, his daughter Tsurenai took over. Wait, does this girl have the Kyūbi in her? It feels too pure to be a jinchūriki's power. What the hell is going on?'_

The tiny toad jumped atop Naruko's head. "Hey pops. Ya gotta help her, she did save me."

"P-pops?" Naruko asked, wondering how the heck the titan she stood on fathered the tiny thing on her head.

"Gamakichi? Why are you here?" Gamabunta asked.

"I wanted some candy after I was summoned, but that overgrown sand drift was tryin' to kill me," Gamakichi stated as he pointed his webbed hand at Gaara.

"Really?" Gamabunta asked as he drew his tantō, "kid. From now on you're my underling and I'll show you what my family's all about."

"You really his kid?" Naruko asked Gamakichi. The toad nodded.

"Hang onto something up there," Gamabunta commanded as he held his tower sized tantō at the ready. The boss toad opened up with a hard slash to the sand construct, only to be thrown away after his sword bounced off and the sand beast smacked him away. He had managed to cleave an arm off, but that didn't really matter when your opponent was a walking desert with attitude. He knew that if he didn't get rid of Shukaku soon, the forest would never look the same again.

"Boss!" Naruko shouted while pointing to his fallen weapon, "that's close to where Sakura-chan is!"

"Sakura-chan?" the giant toad asked.

"This!" Gamakichi offered while holding his hand up in a well known hand sign.

Naruko blushed. "If we don't beat him, Sakura-chan will die!"

Gamabunta wanted nothing more than to laugh at the blushing girl. He had nothing against women being with each other, just that they couldn't have kids. Oh well, to each their own.

Gaara rose out of Shukaku's head. "This is fun!" the boy shouted, "but it ends here!"

"What's up with those eyes?" Gamakichi asked.

"Shukaku's host is unable to sleep because the demon will torture them with nightmares until he finally consumes them. Not only do they fear sleep, the lack of it makes them all psychotic like Shukaku himself. Of course Shukaku's powers are weak while the host is awake," Gamabunta explained, "but if they were to fall asleep like this, Shukaku would fully awaken."

It was like Gaara heard because he used a jutsu to force himself to sleep. The eyes of the sand body seemed to come to life almost instantly. _**"That brat fell asleep! I'm free!"**_ it gleefully roared, then looked at them dead on, _**"and there's already something to kill!"**_ The thing's stomach bloated to an insane size.

"Hang on! We're jumping!" Gamabunta announced, just before jumping over a vicious sand storm from the bijū. The toad then pelted the Ichibi's attack with water balls the size of a school.

"Boss! To the left!" Naruko shouted, right before the sand slammed into the toad.

"_**Dead! Dead! I finally killed him!"**_ Shukaku roared.

Gamabunta proved this wrong by coming out of the blast zone, but he was far from unscathed. "Can't take much more," the toad groaned.

"What do we do then?" Naruko asked.

"Simple; beat the crap out of that kid on his head. Smacking him around a bit should force Shukaku back," Gamabunta said.

"Um, how do we do that?" Naruko asked, "he just kicked yo-"

"We get close and you get the brat," Gamabunta cut in, "since I'm a toad, and you're a ninja, I figure you can change us with a bunshin, something that has claws and fangs so I can hold him down. Or mold him into a sand castle or something."

"_**I'll kill you for good!"**_ Shukaku shouted. The toad that leapt at him suddenly transformed into a nine tailed, dark red furred kitsune that looked far too familiar. **_"Ku-Kurama? Were you there the whole time?"_** the now terrified sand demon asked as it grappled its better. Even if he hated the bastard, he feared the fox's power.

The fox was replaced with the toad from before. "Now!" Gamabunta shouted, making Naruko jump off his head and land on Shukaku's.

"_**What? Get off my head bitch!"**_ Shukaku shouted as the sand on its head rippled, tripping Naruko.

THUD!

"_**Huh?"**_ Shukaku gasped as half of the world vanished. A moment after that impact, it felt the connection between its 'body' and soul snap. He realized what she had done, just not how... Wait, that chakra!

Tripping Naruko had been a mistake. Her right hand, with that weird chakra coming from her wrist, landed flat on Shukaku's head and blew more than a third of it away, it also separated Gaara's body from the incarnation of his bijū. With Gaara free falling, Shukaku was forcibly, although temporarily, sealed back in Gaara due to losing contact with the sand body. She noticed the chakra from her wrist was gone.

Before the insane beast could reform a tendril of sand to reconnect with the body, Naruko drove a straight, but weak kick into Gaara's jaw, forcing him to wake up. They landed on the shoulder of the sand beast and Gaara started to wrap her up in sand, but Gamabunta blocked most of it with his tongue. While it protected her from the sand coming from outside, it didn't stop the sand crawling up her legs.

Just as Naruko thought it couldn't get worse, her ears picked up the sound of groaning wood and she remembered Gaara's words. Her time was limited and she needed to beat Gaara to save Sakura. She felt it burning within her, the need to defeat the boy before her.

"You will die and I will live to kill again," Gaara stated.

"Get...OFF!" Naruko roared, her voice enhanced with some of her remaining chakra. The sand and the great toad's tongue were blown away from her. She tore forward, the sand grabbing at her barely slowed her down. It wasn't until she was within arm's reach that the sand finally slowed her and tied her arms down. "I. Will. Save. HER!" Naruko roared and smashed her head into Gaara's nose, breaking it.

The effects were instant. Gaara's sand beast broke apart and Gamabunta disappeared, both having no chakra left. The redheads fell into the trees, Gamabunta's tantō in between them.

"You...hit me...again?" Gaara panted, "I'll kill you"

Naruko shakily got to her feet. "This next blow will be the last one I have in me."

The two jumped at each other and Gaara's lack of taijutsu training was shown when Naruko's punch plowed straight into his forehead. The two crashed into the ground, Naruko landing on her face while Gaara landed on his back.

"You...won't kill me!" Gaara shouted, "I'll never let you kill me!" It was an empty boast, he couldn't even gather sand with his hands right now.

Naruko dragged herself up, finding that she could only crawl on her hands and knees. It was slow going and painful, but she was going to make sure he released Sakura. Naruko didn't know why, but she could feel loneliness rolling off the boy, much like Neji, but far stronger. Whatever he had gone through, it carved out whatever hope he may have had once. He didn't know that there were worse fates than containing a demon, what if you were one? She knew of his pain, pain he thought was his alone. It was time someone took some of the burden away.

Gaara panicked as Naruko drew nearer. "Back away! I swear I'll-!"

Naruko had gotten close enough that they could touch each others hands if they reached out. She had a look he had only ever felt: a look of deep, soul wrenching pain and loneliness. "You've never had a friend... Never had anyone who knew. Being alone in a village of hundreds, I know it too."

"You..." Gaara breathed. How could anyone understand? But her eyes spoke of the same pain, but how?

"Those who are important to me, you threatened them, tried to kill them." Naruko lifted her face, her slitted eyes, the eyes of the Kyūbi, glared at the boy before her. "Raise a single grain of sand against them again and I'll destroy you and Shukaku!"

Naruko's cool moment fell apart when her hand slipped and she dropped onto her face again. For Gaara, she hadn't lost a single bit of her imposing, almost messianic appearance. She wasn't divine, but she knew of his pain and seemed to have escaped it. But if she knew of his pain, then why? "Why save them? Why not destroy them? Why go so far for people who hate you?"

Naruko lifted her head so she could lock a single eye on him, her bangs falling into her eyes. "A few of them, they stopped me from becoming like you. They saw me as a person and not a thing. They showed me something I never thought I'd have," Naruko explained.

Gaara knew what she meant. He had heard the word so often from his uncle and he now knew what that man had tried to say while spitting out the hateful words of the Kazekage. Love, that emotion that he never felt before, it gave strength.

"Damn," Naruko groaned as he arms and legs refused to move.

Sasuke stepped near the fallen girl. "Stop struggling Naruko. Sakura's fine now, there's no need to force yourself up. That guy's also wiped out, so just rest for now."

"Thank...Kami," Naruko muttered, smiling for two reasons. Sakura was safe and a demon was thanking a goddess. Irony. She passed out.

Sasuke glared at the two who had just appeared, Temari and Kankuro. Both looked about as ready to fight as half drowned rats, but they would fight to the death.

"Stand down, we lost," Gaara commanded.

"Oookay," Kankuro muttered as he carefully lifted his brother onto his shoulder. Temari helped out and the three were gone, headed towards Suna.

After a few minutes, Gaara decided to speak. "Temari, Kankuro. Sorry for everything."

The two were so shocked that they both blurted out. "Don't worry about it."

_[A few days later]_

The Hokage shakily walked up to the podium. Damn, and he thought Orochimaru was bad, Shiratama had beat the life out of him. He looked out over his precious family, seeing some in a similarly battered state, especially an abnormally quiet blond near the front.

Hiruzen cleared his throat. "I have called you all out here for two reasons. The first is to say that you all did well in repelling the invasion."

Murmurs went through the crowd. Guy shouted that he got three more than Kakashi due to his Youthfullness. Many just shook their heads, thinking the men would later compare how had more hair left or other stupid things when they were old and retired.

Hiruzen's smile turned somewhat grim. "This battle taught me a harsh lesson of life. That lesson is that it is time for me to step down as Hokage." He waited for the crowd to quiet down so he could continue. "Like all previous Hokage, I do have a replacement in mind. Unlike the council, who wanted Jiraiya of the Sannin to take the title of Godaime Hokage, I have decided that Senju Tsunade, also of the Sannin, would be a better fit."

The crowd burst into cheers. Tsunade had been the favorite of the village for a long time. For the last time, Hiruzen stepped down from the podium. He had one last mission to give out and he knew who to give it to. This guy was like a perverted bloodhound who was rigged to find Tsunade. He smiled, knowing the man's answer already.

Now, where was the best place in Konoha one could peak into the hot springs without being seen?

**A/N~**

**Bet people are wondering about Naruko's new form and powers. Those will be explained next chapter by Shiratama. Not all news is good news.**

**I've noticed that I've received at least one review by way of e-mail. Let me say this now: I hardly ever check my e-mail. Leaving a normal review is better since I constantly check those and I can respond to them. Also, I had somewhere near 6 solid pages of mail from last time I checked a few months ago, mostly favorite notices. By now I shudder at the thought of the number. Imagine the really good writers on this site. Probably dozens of pages each week...**

**If you've checked my profile, you'd notice it got a massive extension. You might also notice that the 'next fic' section has been updated. The team 10 centric story is a new one where I can pretty much write anything I want because Team 10's story in Part I is never explained. I threw in an OC because I can and I wanted to bring a sadly neglected character into the light a bit (Yūgao) as well as add a character type not found in Naruto. Don't worry, it's a guy that Ino falls for in that fic.**

**Jutsu Index-**

**Shi Furea** [Death Flare] - Tama's unique flames. It is unknown how or why, but the Shinigami entrusted some of his fire to her at a young age. Various phrases are used to direct the fire. These flames are the only thing that can keep mokuton jutsu at bay.

**Kyō no me** [Berserker Eye] – The left eye dōjutsu of Tama. A terrible Kekkai Genkai that forces the user into a killing rage that boosts their power and the lethality of their techniques by shutting off their self-preservation instincts. With this eyes active, the user becomes a nearly unstoppable vehicle of destruction. The draw back is that the user has no control over themselves, has no regard for their own well being and they will keep fighting until everything, the user included, is dead.

**Shikei** [Death Sentence] – The Kyō no me's one and only (known) jutsu. It places a mark upon the target that the Kyō no me can see no matter where or how far away they are. In addition to being a tracking beacon, the mark also slowly weakens the user to make it so they can't flee anymore, making it easier for the chaser to catch and kill them. Normally it is placed on the head or torso, pieces of the body one can't cut off. As its name suggests, the victim will eventually die from the mark.

There is said to be another jutsu for the Kyō no me, but it has never been used, or nobody who has seen it lived long enough to tell of it.

**Responses-**

**Wirdo:** This fic is now being released when I finish a chapter, so it could go fast or slow depending on various factors. Main factor is my ability (curse) to come up with new story ideas. I'm like Jiraiya in the fact that I write down what I come up with. I'm actually thinking of getting a digital voice recorder to make it far easier on me.

**god of all:** I'm planing on going with this fic until I die or finish it, let's hope for the latter. I've got a few more fics I'd like to post before I wind up underground.

**HeartChild:** Here it is.

**SuperNeos2:** Glad you liked it. Surprised you didn't say anything about the Naruko VS Gaara match, I put a lot of work into it.

**gaara king of the sand:** Think of the basis of genjutsu: high chakra control. Naruko has too much chakra to accurately create and maintain an illusion. Also, have you ever seen Kurama use an illusion? The Kyūbi is more of a combat beast rather than an all-rounder, much like Naruto. These traits reflect in Naruko, who is the new Kyūbi.

By the way, are you reading the right manga? Most of the really bad stuff Sasuke did had nothing to do with the curse seal. If it was all the curse seal, then he would have returned to Konoha after Itachi sealed Orochimaru and the curse seal away in his Susanoo's sword, or at least turned his back on Tobi. Instead, he attacked Kumo to capture Kirābī and the Eight-Tails, then went on a killing spree at the Five Kage Summit, greatly wounding one Kage and killing another. He also ditched his entire team to make things easier on him, almost killing Karin when he probably could have saved her and defeated Danzō. Add to it that he tried to kill Sakura, then his former sensei and then Naruto soon after that. I'm pretty sure that the curse seal was suppressing his evil rather than bringing it out since he was quite tame when he had it.

Sasuke's blood is what made him how evil he is now. He was born bad, the seal just sped up his fall to darkness. Tobi even said that Sasuke had inherited the 'Uchiha's curse of hatred.'. Nothing more than anger from people who thought they deserved more than they got. Greedy, childish bastards. The only good Uchiha were Itachi, Obito and Shisui.

**ladygoddess8:** How would you react to a perverted redheaded lesbian and a white haired super pervert trying to drag you somewhere? Tama won't be going with them due to injuries that she suffered while fighting Orochimaru. Even kitsune of her caliber need downtime.

**Firestar001:** That's actually how I write my stories. Memo to self: set up my second flat screen monitor so I don't need to keep switching back and forth from ACDSee and LibreOffice.

I think I saw that fic listed a few times, but I ignored it. Don't know why, probably looking for something else at the time. Tama was created as a roughly ANBU level fighter, though she has no jutsu. Her techniques are based off Kurama's attacks and an anime I remembering seeing once, but can't remember for the life of me.

**DarkLordK:** Death by perverted nose bleed brought on by lesbians, one of Jiraiya's preferred methods of death. (others are in bed with Tsunade, in bed with two or more lesbians or in bed with Tsunade and lesbians who Tsunade is making out with)

Stop reading my mind! Ino will pounce on Naruko later, I just need to decide when. I want a nice big impact on the kitsune...

**Sky Zephyrus:** Actually, it was to the arm. Naruko pretty much hit the same place Sasuke hit in canon, but her spear completely pierced through the boy and his shield. No mention of her flame sword? Eh, it played a small role this time anyway.

Ino wasn't getting horny from watching Naruko, it was closer to going into a full blown heat for the girl. Had the fight kept going on, the crowd probably would have looked at her funny when her activities reached their 'peak.' Ino wanted nothing more than Naruko going up there and making her scream again and again.

**MizoreShirayukiFan:** Ah, the cutest girl from Rozario + Vampire. (would have made a hell of a harem if Tsukune wasn't such a spineless wuss) Anyway, thanks for checking and finding this fic. Hope it keeps you coming back for more.

**darknessbounty:** Naruko's physical strength is lower than canon Naruto's only because of she is a girl. This isn't sexist, I just decided to lower her power and raise her speed and flexibility. I tend to take one stat down and raise a few others to compensate and keep things even. And no, Naruko will not use Kubikirihōchō since it's far too heavy for her. The fate of the blade will be revealed in Part II.

**bloodaddict13:** I honestly think that Naruto has unisex properties due to practicing with his Oiroke no jutsu. And yeah, parts of her would change, such as her starting to think of herself as cute and such, but her baser aspects, such as romantic interests and sexual preference, wouldn't change at all.

By the way, a gender flip is when a boy suddenly becomes a girl and vice versa. Gender reversal is the same thing. In this fic, Naruto was still born. Naruko, the surviving kit of Kyūbi, was raised as Naruto. That is why her personality is so similar to his.

**KTlovesmoney:** ...Huh? How does a mostly canon chapter receive a 101 while a deviation chapter gets a 95? Guess that shows the gap between me and Kishimoto... Anyway, glad you like this fic.

**ddcj1990:** Those abilities will be explained later. As you can see, she tapped into them again, but at a much lower level.

**Sauce Boss:** Glad you like it.

**DarkKiller9:** I'll explain that in Part II, but she isn't going to use it. Remember that Zabuza told her to use it for whatever she wanted. Besides, her flame sword and Kitsune Yari are far more powerful since their made of pure, almost solidified chakra.

**WitcheKit: **How is this story short? I've planned it to go all the way to an end I will put together myself. Don't know what it'll be, but it won't be canon.

And thanks for praising Sasuke's 'genius.'

Sasuke: Hn.

Oh don't be like that. Dobette is your greatest contribution to my fic along with... And Witchie called it cute too. How'd you like that, Sasuke-chan?

Sasuke-chan: Hn... Hey! Why did my name plate change? Sasuke-chan! And why did you suddenly stop like that?

No reason. _(I'm shocked he didn't notice the maid uniform. I'll teleport him to Sasufan HQ before he does)_

Sasuke-chan: Wait, what am I wea- (teleported away)

I'm going to hear about that later...


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Spin, spin, spin!

**Disclaimer: I could own Naruto, I'd just need a few things. Do you guys think Ebay would have a time machine for sale? The American government once sold an underground missile base, abandoned and stripped of all equipment.**

"Wooow," Jiraiya half groaned, half crowed as he stared at the very Tsunade-like woman in the hot spring with this telescope. She didn't have the assets of Tsunade, but her hair and face were fairly close.

"Got to remember this place," Hiruzen said as he too spied into the women only area with his own telescope.

Jiraiya freaked out, accidentally throwing his little spy glass into the air. The white haired man then spent the better part of three minutes juggling the tool before he got a firm grip of it. "Sensei! Don't ever sneak up on me when I'm doing my research!" he shouted.

Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh at his student's antics. "I already know you weren't there for the speech, so I'll tell you now that I am stepping down as Hokage."

"I am not becoming Hokage," Jiraiya stated.

"I know that already, Tsunade is the next Hokage. You are going to find her," Hiruzen said.

Jiraiya blushed, then paled, then twitched in pain at the memories associated with his favorite woman. "Do I have to?" he asked. He wouldn't mind seeing her, but she would probably send him back to Konoha while giving him more frequent flier miles.

"Yes. The talks with Suna are finished, but we still need to have our new Hokage at the helm of everything," Hiruzen stated.

The white haired man sighed. "Fine, but-"

"No ANBU since you won't run for the nearest hill overlooking a place with filled with women," Hiruzen finished, "I never thought of it at all, though the council did. I trust you to complete your mission."

Jiraiya smiled. Hiruzen always knew him the best, since the old man was also a pervert as well as a powerful shinobi. "Fine, but I got a certain brat that I'm taking along."

"Good, I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Hiruzen said. He thought back to a younger Jiraiya and remembered something. "Hey, you never taught me that jutsu."

Jiraiya started at the man for a few moments. "You really are a pervert sensei." He then began teaching the older man his first original jutsu. As expected, the soon-to-be ex-shinobi no kami quickly mastered it.

_[Training Ground 14]_

"That's it!" Haku shouted as he unleashed another volley of pointless senbon, "keep it up!"

Naruko ran and jumped, avoiding the needles with steadily increasing skill. She was building up her speed in a combo style, using weights on her forearms and legs to help build up speed and power. The needles were forcing her to get used to the weight faster. It was working quite well too, though Haku was using only about a third of his talent with his favorite weapons. It was a combination of Guy and Lee's daily training mixed with what little of Sasuke's self training that Naruko had heard about.

"Hey!" a voice called.

Haku and Naruko turned and, without thinking, threw weapons to scare the person off.

Jiraiya assumed a hilarious pose, a few of Haku's real needles near his neck while a kunai near his groin made him stand on the tips of his toes. The shuriken had his arms up, almost like a cop had caught him peeping. All in all, a pink tutu would have completed the image.

"You mind?" he asked.

A few minutes later, the three were walking to town when Jiraiya broke the news to the girl.

"Huh? I'm not going with you Ero-sennin," the redhead huffed, "Kakashi-sensei was going to try help me learn to use my katon."

"But I told you that this was to find a bombshell of a babe. I know you still like women, you perverted little yuri girl," Jiraiya said with a light elbow jab and a wink, making the girl blush.

"Whatever, I need to learn how to use my katon or I'll never be able to become Hokage," Naruko growled. The only thing this pervert did was perverted stuff. With Kakashi, at least she'd learn something. She already sort of understood the basics of what he had told her, sort of. It seemed that Naruko didn't need a hand in front of her mouth when she breathed fire, but that was all Kakashi had worked out so far. He was sure to figure out a way to help her!

"I know katon too, and I may be able to help you out more since unusual jutsu are my specialty," the white haired man countered, "besides, the babe! The babe is what this trip is all about! Let me tell you, you could play hide and seek in her shirt and not get caught for a whole week."

Naruko got a slightly distant look on her face as a bit of drool slipped out the corner of her mouth. She quickly came back and glared at the man. "I'm not like you! I want to learn new jutsu, become stronger and become Hokage!"

_'You were exactly like me a moment ago,'_ Jiraiya thought. "Too bad, I was going to teach you a very powerful jutsu, looks like I'll just teach it to Sasuke instead." Honestly, he didn't think Sasuke could even work out the first part of the jutsu. Kid might be a genius, but the Rasengan was something that required savant-like abilities. An almost all rounder like Sasuke would just break himself. The only reason that Minato ever was able to use it was because he created it. The man even admitted that he could not have learned it if he had been taught the jutsu.

Naruko released a small amount of KI at the thought of Sasuke getting another powerful jutsu. "I'm...going..." she muttered under her breath, then rushed home at top speed. Before she made it to the corner, she vanished in a dull flash of red.

"What was that?" Haku asked, "it wasn't a shunshin."

"Hiraishin," Jiraiya stated, "seems like that jutsu got ingrained into her DNA itself, almost like a Kekkei Genkai. If she could use it at will, she'd give anyone a run for their money."

"I guess I'll go grab a few missions and wait for Naruko-san to come back," Haku said as he turned and walked towards the Tower, "by the way, Jiraiya-san. Teach Naruko-san anything perverted and I'll make you a harmless pervert." He tossed a senbon, hitting a pair of apples with them.

Jiraiya shivered, getting the message. "Damn, not only does he look like a woman, he can threaten like one too."

_[A day later]_

"Hey, what kind of jutsu are you going to teach me Ero-sennin?" the kitsune asked. She would have sounded more excited, but her visit to a healing Shiratama had dampened her spirits quite a bit.

Jiraiya looked at her as if she were an idiot. "Ero-sennin? Me? All the nations know of my name and fear me! Babies go silent in my wake as women throw themselves at my feet. I am the Sage of Toads, the Sannin Jiraiya!" he stated in a bold manner.

Naruko was gone already, quite a distance from him. She had actually turned and started walking the moment he started to talk. After she assumed that his pride had recovered, somewhat, she spoke up. "Hey Ero-sennin the Great, why did you want me to come along? Is it because I'm a bijū?"

"Ero-sennin the Great? I'm Jiraiya dammit!" the master of perversion snapped. She was such an uncute brat! Hard to believe her mother's human form was such a knockout.

Naruko went on, knowing that the old man would soon forget about her calling him a pervert. "So does me being a bijū make this jutsu easier to learn, or do I have some kind of special ability that makes this jutsu easy to master?"

_'She's really hung up on the bijū thing. Wonder what happened that made this come about.'_ Jiraiya scratched his head in thought. Might as well go with the truth. "I knew someone who looked a lot like you, had unique talents too. You should know her as well, since you were almost born within her."

"Who?" Naruko asked.

"Uzumaki Kushina, the wife of the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato," Jiraiya said, the smiled, "she was quite the little firecracker too, just like you."

Within an hour, they got to a small town that Naruko found strange, mainly due to its almost zero ninja population.

"This is the hotel we call home for now," Jiraiya said as he waved the girl over.

"Hey there~" a sweet voice called.

Snap! Snap!

Both Jiraiya and Naruko turned so quickly that some bones popped a bit. "WHOA!" the two cried out as they beheld a beauty, who winked at Jiraiya.

"Naruko!" Jiraiya shouted as he threw his bag at the girl along with their room key, "go upstairs and practice your chakra control. I've got some adult things to take care of!" He then ran over to the woman and quickly led her away from the hotel.

"Wait! Ero-sennin!" Naruko called as she tottered back and forth. The old man's luggage and her weights made it hard to stay upright. _'Damn old man! Something is wrong with that woman! She just felt...wrong to me.'_ She went to stomp her way to the staircase, but then quickly went back and used a bit of her money to switch the rooms. No way she'd sleep in the same room as an admitted open pervert. That and he wouldn't know the room at all, giving her some revenge for him ditching her.

A few minutes after Naruko settled in her room, Sasuke burst into the hotel lobby. "There is a redheaded girl and a white haired guy here, which room are they in?" The clerk thought for a few moments, then directed Sasuke to a room on the second floor. Sasuke got there and threw the door open to find.

"Oh my god!" a red haired woman shouted as she quickly threw a towel around her body.

A white haired man came into view. "Kimiko? HEY! Get away from my fiance!" he shouted.

"Damn, wrong room!" Sasuke growled as he slammed the door shut. Unlike most men, he didn't give a damn about walking in on a naked/changing woman.

_[Ground floor, same hotel]_

Naruko had heard the shout and figured that it was either Ero-sennin getting caught or a little bit of perverted role playing. She lived in a rarely visited area of Konoha, so it wasn't uncommon for her to see strange things from more 'adventurous' people.

Knock, knock.

Naruko hopped off her bed and went to the door. She opened it to see a black haired man with Sharingan.

_'This guy...looks like Sasuke!'_ Naruko thought.

An even larger man forced the door all the way open. "Strange, I thought the Kyūbi brat was here. Guess we got the wrong hotel."

"Quiet down Kisame. Young lady, do you know of a boy named Uzumaki Naruto?" the sharingan user asked. When the girl didn't respond, he closed his eyes and deactivated his sharingan before opening them again. There was no use holding the woman if Naruto wasn't here and his eyes obviously scared the poor girl, who probably had no experience with the sharingan. "Come on out and tell us if Naruto-kun is your teammate." She had to know since the only reason a Leaf-nin would be here is if it was with Naruto and Jiraiya.

When Naruko took a small, hesitant step forward, Kisame angrily grabbed his sword's handle. "Hey, hurry it up already!"

It was the absolute worst time for it to happen. Naruko's chakra acted up, the networks for her unformed tails appearing and tearing the doorway apart as they wound around her, forming a barrier between her and the two men. The tails were obviously acting to defend her from Kisame's threat, but they had just blown away any chance she had of tricking the men.

"This is...the Kyūbi's chakra!" Kisame gasped, "Itachi, I thought the Kyūbi was in a boy!"

Itachi didn't even respond to his partner, he was too busy staring at the way her chakra had wrapped around her. _'That's like Susanoo's ribcage.'_ He reactivated his sharingan.

"The seal is located on the torso, so limbs are optional," Kisame stated as he grabbed the handle of his sword again, "think we can keep her from bleeding out too fast?"

Itachi didn't even move from his spot as he stared at Naruko. "Sasuke, why are you here?"

Sasuke stood a good distance behind the two men, his head lowered. "Uchiha..Itachi...You will die here," Sasuke declared, his sharingan almost devoid of all life.

"You aren't so unique anymore, you know that Itachi? I've now seen three sharingan other than your own," Kisame said as he relaxed his stance slightly, then smirked. "Judging by what he said, he must know you."

"Once, he was my brother," Itachi stated as if it barely mattered. It seemed that the blood bond between him and Sasuke was as trivial as hunger or thirst, something that was there, but mostly ignored.

"You missed one? I knew you didn't wipe out a whole clan!" Kisame smiled at that. Seems like he'd get to see Itachi finally put a clan in the history books, permanently.

Sasuke had finished the seals while Kisame and Itachi talked. "I'm finally ready, ready to kill you!"

Itachi barely raised his eye brow at the sight of the chidori. Contrary to Sasuke and Kakashi's belief, he had long since learned the jutsu and knew of its weak points. As his brother ran forward, his chidori tearing the wall apart, Itachi saw how pathetic his brother's skill with the jutsu was. The chidori was meant to be a short stabbing blade, but Sasuke was treating it like a sword or ax, ruining the thrusting power of the jutsu. When Sasuke came close enough, Itachi grabbed his hand behind the wrist and redirected the jutsu at the shielded girl.

BOOM!

"Damn!" Kisame muttered. There was a perfect circle behind Naruko, her tail barrier having completely stopped the wild raiton.

Naruko felt the KI from Itachi and pulled at the chakra tails, dragging them into herself. She knew that with the chakra, she could at least free Sasuke. Summoning in a place like this was useless, so she'd just scratch Itachi's hand and be done with it.

"Away from me," Itachi angrily muttered as he tossed Sasuke through the wall he had destroyed.

Kisame swung his blade down in a flash. "Calm down, would you?"

The effect was instant.

The blade went wild, bloody red chakra bleeding out of it from all over.

"What?" Kisame gasped. The chakra was burning his Samehada, damaging it from the inside. There was no way she could have enough chakra to do that! He made it open its mouth and spit the chakra up. He felt his blade tremble, almost like it feared the girl now.

Naruko took Kisame's shock as an advantage and jumped in after Sasuke, finding him lying on the ground. "Come on! We have to go!" she shouted as she lifted him to his feet.

"I can't let you do that," Itachi stated as he moved in the way, "come with us... What is your name?"

"That would be Uzumaki Naruko," Jiraiya stated as he appeared in the hall. He then assumed his favorite introduction stance. "I, the epitome of manly charm, cannot fall prey to the lure of a woman. It is I, Jiraiya, who makes the woman fall at my feet!"

Nobody seemed interested in the man's speech. In fact, they looked at him like he was a total moron.

"You fell for it right away! I tried to tell you, but you ran off, you fake perverted sage!" Naruko raged.

While Jiraiya and Naruko had a shouting match, Itachi's eyes narrowed. To fight a Sannin wouldn't be a problem, but he preferred to have the jinchūriki come willingly if possible. With Jiraiya around, he'd just waste chakra. But what truly troubled him was Naruko. Not only did she repel Samehada, while keeping much of her chakra, she also seemed to sense the genjutsu on the woman. These were unusual traits for her to have. Hmm, now that he thought of it, the Kyūbi was said to be able to sense negative emotions due to it being a monster that created them. Could she have bonded with the beast to the point where she could freely use its abilities and chakra? If so, she was more dangerous than any of their other targets. Then again, it might be good for his true objective.

"You guys really went to great lengths to separate me and the brat, so you really are after the Kyūbi inside her?" he lied. As long as they thought she was a jinchūriki, the girl would be treated with kid gloves, so to speak. If they knew she was an unbound bijū, they would use their full power to take her.

"So Kakashi got that bit of information from you," Itachi stated, "capture the Kyūbi jinchūriki. That is the mission given to us two from the leader of Akatsuki."

"Guess that means you're going to fail," Jiraiya muttered in a low, dangerous tone.

Itachi was impassive as always. "And why is that?"

"I'm going to kill the both of you now," Jiraiya said.

"N-no!" Sasuke gasped as he tried to stand on his own, "he's...Itachi is...mine..."

"You're even more pathetic that the last time I saw you. Leave, you mean nothing to me," Itachi ordered. When the boy didn't listen, Itachi removed the burden from Naruko by kicking Sasuke into the wall.

Naruko felt the chakra from her tails flowing through her body faster, easier than ever before. "You!" she roared, the walls shaking slightly from her rage.

"Naruko! This is my fight, my purpose! Don't interfere!" Sasuke commanded as he used the wall to drag himself up. "Let's end this!" he shouted at his brother.

For the next twenty seconds, Itachi beat the life out of his little brother. In the end, Sasuke felt the truth with his own body: Itachi had been improving as well, leaps and bounds more than Sasuke could dream of. He was lifted and held against a wall so he was at eye level with Itachi. When that happened, Itachi unleashed his Tsukuyomi on Sasuke, who was forced to watch his parents being killed for a whole day.

Naruko blasted forward, the force of her jump destroying the ground she had been standing on. Kisame wanted to strike her down, but her sheer speed and his blade's fear slowed him too much. Add to it that Jiraiya trapped them in a strange ninjutsu made it near impossible to catch the redhead.

Itachi felt her coming and effortlessly caught her by the neck, releasing his brother. "So this is the power of a jinchūriki. I can see why Akatsuki needs it. Let me ask you, what would you do if I were to attack Konoha?"

Naruko glared into the man's sharingan, no fear of his eyes in her own. "I fight for them!"

"And they shun you for living. Tell me, why fight for them?" Itachi asked.

Naruko tried to break free, but she couldn't. "I can look beyond the past!"

"Can you? Do you really never think of using that power to force them to apologize?" Itachi questioned, "with that power, you could easily gain everything you ever wanted. Fame, money, the love of many."

Naruko wouldn't listen to this guy. He didn't know her at all.

"Even respect and acknowledgment," Itachi whispered, making the girl stiffen. "So that's it. To be seen as a person, not as a tool." He leaned closer and whispered into her ear, her eyes widening at what she heard.

"Itachi!" Kisame called as he tore his sword free, "we have to move. NOW!"

Itachi locked his eyes with a girl he swore could have been a sharingan master had she be born with them. "Remember what I said, it will lead to all that you seek." He released the girl and took off after Kisame, quickly passing the larger man.

"Not so fast!" Jiraiya shouted as he made the jutsu start closing on the men. A few moments after that, he felt the jutsu tear apart in one place. The two long haired ninja ran around the corner and saw the burnt open window. While Jiraiya sealed the black flames around the wreckage, Naruko went back around the corner, thinking of what Itachi had said to her. As she thought about it, she didn't notice the almost black chakra wafting around her.

When Jiraiya came back around, releasing his jutsu, he had roughly ten seconds to talk to the redhead when a kunai hit the wall. He looked at it, then looked to the other side in time to eat the sole of Guy's sandal.

"Sorry!" Guy apologized with his usual level of extreme Youthfulness, "my forehead protector needs more polishing before I use it as a mirror again. I could only make out vague shapes!" He then laughed nervously.

"Why do I feel like you are lying to me?" Jiraiya asked. "Whatever, take Sasuke to Konoha's hospital. They can fix the physical damage he suffered, but whatever attack Itachi used with his sharingan has pretty much torn his mind up."

"Is Sasuke going to be okay?" Naruko asked.

"I don't know. While his body can be healed by anyone, it will take a lot to heal his mind" Jiraiya explained.

Naruko felt a darkness within her, a voice that spoke very quietly within her heart. She didn't understand it, but she felt that it fully supported her right now. "Ero-sennin. Let's forget that girl and hunt down those bastards!"

"Going to tie yourself up in a pretty bow and give up, because that's what you are saying now," Jiraiya said.

"I'm not the type to run away! I won't spend my whole life looking over my shoulder, wondering when the kunai will hit me!" Naruko shouted.

"Shut up!" Jiraiya snapped. Once the girl completely shut her mouth, he went on. "Even if you are what you are, you're a weakling who barely defeated Shukaku, the weakest of the bijū. As you are now, you might as well just give up and let them do whatever it is they want."

"While I do understand her anger, I feel that it is far more important to get Sasuke to a hospital," Guy cut in, "and Kakashi is in a similar state too."

Naruko couldn't believe it. The strongest genin and jōnin she knew of, both taken out by the same guy. Just how powerful was he?

"While a medic could indeed heal the body, and care for it, the mind will require a specialist," Guy muttered.

"That's just what I'm looking for," Jiraiya stated.

"You couldn't mean her?" Guy asked.

A few minutes later, they were all outside with Guy ready to set a new record for getting to Konoha with an injured person. "Do your best to find Tsunade-sama!" the strange ninja practically saluted.

"We'll find her so she can help Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei and Lee!" Naruko shouted.

"Heh. Take care of Sasuke on the way back, you are rough enough on yourself," Jiraiya said.

Guy smiled. "Naruko-kun, you burn with flames of Youth. I will now bestow upon you the secret to Lee's power."

"Really?" Naruko remembered those weights Lee had. If she could use them one day, she'd be just as fast as he was.

Guy pulled out one of his green jumpsuits, though this one was smaller and designed for a girl. "A form fitting, perfectly designed jumpsuit! Wearing it once will make you never want to take it off! Ever since Lee put it on, he has never taken it off and has only grown stronger!"

Naruko was blown away. "Wait, won't I need more than one?"

Guy produced two more. "One was for Tenten-kun, but she refused."

"Rather than carry a mirror, you carry those things?" Jiraiya deadpanned.

A few moments later, Naruko and Jiraiya were alone, except for one of the three jumpsuits she had taken.

"Please tell me you aren't wearing that," Jiraiya stated in an even voice.

"It looks like it'd fit, so why not?" Naruko asked. She figured it would look good with the red arm and leg warmers she had on, which hid the weights she wore. She'd probably have to switch the weights out when they got back to Konoha, these ones were starting to become unnoticeable.

"Have you ever seen a girl show interest in either Guy or Lee? Has anyone ever called them cool, other than you? That outfit will make you a chick repellant," Jiraiya deadpanned. He started walking to the next town.

As they walked, Naruko thought back to when she had gone to tell Shiratama about the trip to find this woman. It was the source of her worry.

_[Konoha hospital, a day ago]_

"Naruko-sama," the bandaged kitsune called as the girl tried to leave, "I have to talk to you about some things Hatake-san and Haruno-san told me about."

Naruko came back to the bedside and sat in the chair. "What is it?"

Tama looked worried. "About what you did with the Hyūga. I never thought I'd see that power again, a power that Kurama-sama said was his alone." She locked eyes with Naruko. "Each Kyūbi had their own power, which they passed on to the next. Kurama-sama had the power of the wild beast, but he sealed it away due to the dangers of it. While it does give great strength, it comes at the cost of sanity. He once called it a 'Devolved State,' one that ate away at his ability to resist the urge to kill."

Naruko shivered. "But I didn't want to kill anyone."

Tama nodded slightly. "It seems that the seal was only partly undone, but it will probably come apart more and more as you grow into your powers. Hopefully you can counter it with your mother's power."

"My mother's power?" Naruko asked.

"The Majesty State, the power you used to defeat Gaara both times. It is the complete opposite of the Devolved State and a means to achieve the same level of power, if not more," Tama stated.

Naruko remembered those times. "Why was their fur coming from my wrists?"

"That wasn't fur, it was solidified chakra. Majesty state allows you to mold chakra into a solid form, such as the Kyūbi Yari or the Kyūbi Katana. It also protects you from damage to some degree," Tama explained.

"Some attacks? Gaara couldn't do anything to me," Naruko said.

"The Majesty state was what Tsurenai-sama said would render Shukaku's powers useless. Quite simply, you pulled out the perfect weapon to defeat him at the right time," Tama said with a light smile. She was truly proud of her empress' accomplishments.

"But that devolved power... is there any way to seal it or something?" Naruko asked. The thought of becoming a mindless beast of slaughter, she didn't want to be like that.

Tama shook her head. "It isn't possible to seal it, not anymore. You just have to keep your emotions in check, rage is the key to that power."

"What about Majesty? What triggers it?" Naruko asked.

Tama smiled slightly, feeling both happy and sad. "Tsurenai-sama never had a chance to tell us. She focused on you and your deceased brother, something far more important to her than any power or glorious battle."

_[Now, street]_

"Ero-sennin!" Naruko called after stopping.

"What is it?" Jiraiya asked.

"Why do they want to capture me? Who are those Akatsuki guys?" Naruko asked.

Jiraiya sighed. "They want bijū like you, but the rest are all sealed in humans called jinchūriki. As to why they want you, I don't have a clue."

Naruko looked at her hand as she closed it into a fist. "What is a bijū? Why would they want them?"

"Bijū are powerful monsters with chakra that far exceeds that of any human. It's like comparing a Kage to a fresh academy student. As to why they would want such fearsome creatures, who knows? If I had to guess, I'd say most of Akatsuki probably doesn't know either,. They most likely want to control that power themselves, though I don't know if a person can become a jinchūriki unless they are very young," Jiraiya guessed. "Since they think you're just a jinchūriki, they won't take you too seriously at first. You are going to have to worry about them later, but until then, Jiraiya-sama is here to pro-"

"So I have to become stronger, strong enough to make them give up on me," Naruko said with a confident smile.

_'D-damn uncute brat! She ruined my cool moment!'_ Jiraiya mentally wailed. It was like she had the ability to strip away his awesomeness without even trying.

"Let's find Tsunade, get everyone on their feet and start my training!" Naruko shouted, back to her old self.

"That's more like it," Jiraiya said as he turned to go on.

"WAIT!" Naruko shouted, "this woman whose chest can hide me all day long, is it this Tsunade woman?"

Jiraiya was quite surprised. "Could my genius be rubbing off on you already? And it was a week, not a day."

"She's one of these Sannin too, right?" Naruko asked.

"Yeah," Jiraiya said, wondering what the kitsune was thinking.

"How old is she?" Naruko asked.

"Fifty," Jiraiya said. He didn't worry about his age since he still looked like he was in his early thirties.

_'So if she's the same age as you and part of the Sannin like you and Orochimaru, she must be an old pervert,'_ Naruko thought. Little did she know, the woman she just insulted leveled a wall in response to a sudden urge to obliterate anything that was red. "What is Tsunade like?" the kitsune feared the answer.

"You're getting smarter if you're showing an interest in Tsunade. Let's see. She's annoying and can't help but gamble all the time. She's actually well known in any country that has a casino or gambling den," Jiraiya said.

"So we should find her with no problem if she's so famous," Naruko cheered. The sooner this was finished, the sooner she could start learning!

"Yeah she's famous alright," Jiraiya said with a wry smile, "so famous that she's known as the Legendary Sucker rather than one of the Sannin."

Naruko stared at the man blandly. Leave it to the Sannin to all be perverts. Naruko wasn't as oblivious to sex as many believed. As she mentioned before, she lived in a part of town where the crazy people went to have fun. While she did know some stuff, a lot of things were still unknown to her.

"Tsunade's not the type to let go of her looks, so she'll be using a complex henge to appear around twenty or so, her best years. I've heard stories about her altering her appearance to be anywhere between ten and forty so she can escape the casino debt collectors," Jiraiya said.

"Debt Collectors!" Naruko shouted in alarm.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that. Tsunade's been interested in gambling since a young age despite her always losing and having enough bad luck with money to sink the elemental nation's economies. That's where the title of Legendary Sucker came from," Jiraiya explained. He did not want to admit that he was the one who gave her that particular name after she went into a fifty thousand ryo debt with him when they were fourteen. He decided he didn't want her money since he loved her, though he had made a crack about her still flat chest that resulted in her cracking his sternum.

"So her issue is...gambling?" Naruko asked, fearing for Konoha's future now. "How do we find her?"

"We walk to a certain town I know of. It's got more gambling dens than hot springs," Jiraiya said.

"WALKING! How far is this town, and why go there so slowly? We're ninja for Kami's sake!" Naruko shouted.

Jiraiya smiled. The gaki was going to love walking soon enough. "Tanzaku Town is a few days away, but it won't be dull since most of the travel will focus on you."

Naruko was dumbstruck, which was one word from what she normally was. "Me?"

"Yeah, I think we'll start your training a little early," Jiraiya announced.

"Alright!" Naruko shouted, green jumpsuit in hand.

"Oh hell no! There is no way I am being seen anywhere near that thing! Either put it away or it will be your katon target, if we get that far!" Jiraiya shouted as he pointed at the mistake Guy created years ago.

_[Outskirts of Tanzaku Town, a few days later]_

Naruko was happy, sort of. The old perv had been trying to help her work out her katon and they had gone quite far. Naruko had learned to charge the air in her lungs with chakra and to spit it out, but the ignition part was still a mystery to her. Unknown to Jiraiya, Naruko's weights now meant nothing to her and she had actually forgotten about them completely.

What made her not so happy was her lack of that new, powerful jutsu Jiraiya had mentioned.

"Ero-sennin, when am I going to learn that jutsu you mentioned back home?" Naruko asked.

"Hey, I thought getting some progress on your fire breath would be enough to hold you over while I find some information on Tsunade," Jiraiya said. Damn, he might need to give her a regular katon to try and master while he went searching.

"Information? I thought we could find her easily," Naruko whined.

"Yeah, in this town," Jiraiya said as they got to the rail, allowing them to see the festival going on in town. When they were in the town proper, Jiraiya smiled at the girl looking around all over the place with excitement.

"I've never seen anything like this before!" the kitsune shouted. Actually, she had to avoid these since people tend to react badly to her being around during celebrations. She'd never even been to a birthday party or anything her whole life.

"Enjoy yourself, this festival is going to be a break before the real training begins," Jiraiya said.

Naruko dug into her backpack and fished out Gama-chan, who was ready to explode from all the cash inside it.

"Whoa!" Jiraiya shouted as he saw all the drinking -er, bartender bribing money the girl had. "That's a nice little sum of cash you got there, almost like a jōnin's salary."

"It's my savings, all in case of a dry spell for ninja business," Naruko said, "well, see ya!"

"WAIT!" Jiraiya shouted, "I'll hold onto your money for you." His hand was held out, a sign for Naruko to put the wallet on it.

"Why?" Naruko asked as she backed up slightly, defensively hugging her wallet. She felt a tingling from him and all these weird tingles she'd been feeling lately bothered her.

"Shinobi have three vices that must always avoid. They are alcohol, women and money!" Jiraiya stated in a sage-like manner.

Naruko's doubt flew into the red levels. "I'm not old enough to drink, the only girl I want to be with is Sakura-chan and I am a thrifty shopper. If anyone here has trouble with money, women and drinking, it's you! That Tsunade woman also has a money problem, probably a drinking problem too. Out of all of us, I'm the most responsible."

A couple people nearby laughed at Jiraiya, an adult, getting told off by Naruko, a child. As much as he wanted to try, it seemed like he'd have to dig into his own pocket for women and drinks today. "Fine then," he said as he handed over his backpack, "hand over your backpack. The toads know my chakra best, so they can track my bag better than your bag. Worst case, they can use the traces from your bag to find you." He took the girl's bag and sighed as the girl walked away. "Damn. I thought she was a total moron. Guess she outwitted me. This time."

Naruko spent her time just having fun, spending about twenty ryo or so during her travels. She wound up on her face after putting a ANBU-like mask on, which led to her finding Jiraiya's bankbook. Now she knew she was right in keeping her money since the old guy was loaded! She decided that she'd at least get the old guy something and decided some fried squid was good. She noticed that she liked meat more now, though she could still eat tons of ramen. She could stand vegetables a bit better now, but she still didn't like them much. Fruit was nice too.

"Now where would he be?" Naruko wondered aloud. A loud, perverted laugh reached her ears and she tracked it, finding a small bar about a block away.

"What beautiful young ladies you two are! How about pouring me another glass?" Jiraiya drunkenly shouted. He then noticed Naruko. "How was the festival?" he slurred.

Naruko looked at the plastered man, then looked at the bottles of high grade sake on the table. She was happy that she managed to save Gama-chan from this tyrant. With a quick look at the man, she took the squid she had gotten him and ate it in one bite, swallowed and growled as she prepped herself to tell the Sannin before her off so much that it would make Ino proud.

"You drunken, perverted, lying, idiotic jerk!" Naruko shouted, "you make it seem like you want me to rest up for the training you promised me, but you really wanted to come fool around with these women! And you wanted to use my money too! How low can you be!" Naruko was surprised that she hadn't reduced the stand to splinters with her anger. She must be getting better at controlling herself.

Bump!

Naruko stumbled forward as a man bumped into her. "OW!" he shouted, "I think you broke my thumb just now, clumsy bitch." Naruko glared at the man and his blood froze over.

"Yeah! Pay the bill for medical treatment," an obvious brown nosing yes man shouted. He didn't even notice that his boss had nearly crapped himself when the girl looked at him.

"If bumping into this brat really did break something, then this will reduce you to dust," Jiraiya said, looking like he was the most sober man alive.

"Boss is a former chūnin from Iwa. He'll cream you two!" brown noser shouted.

"Naruko, this is what I'm going to teach you," Jiraiya said as he moved forward, thrust his hand into the chest of one of the men and they were thrown away in a twister of power. Oddly enough, Jiraiya somehow wound up with the man's wallet.

"Is that part of the jutsu?" Naruko deadpanned as she stared at the wallet.

The men crashed into a water balloon yo-yo stand and Jiraiya caught one of the many escaped orbs. He then payed the stand owner for the damage.

"What?" the 'former chūnin' asked as he felt himself passing out.

"Saving your ass. Naruko would have accidentally killed you since you guys are so weak," Jiraiya said, then turned away and walked over to Naruko. "Naruko, training time!"

Naruko followed the man.

Once more, the two were outside Tanzaku town. "Here," Jiraiya said as he tossed the toy to Naruko.

"What the hell? I want to train, not play!" Naruko shouted.

Jiraiya sighed. "You did pay attention to what I did, right?" Naruko nodded. "What happened to those guys?"

"They spun around in the air?" Naruko guessed. Maybe Jiraiya was asking about their crash or something.

"Normally, everyone would say they spun and that's exactly what happened," Jiraiya said as another water balloon yo-yo in his hand started going nuts. A moment later, the balloon exploded. "Tree climbing is focusing your chakra to a certain spot and concentrating so it stays for a brief period of time. Water walking, which I helped with, is when you use the basics of tree climbing, but you keep the chakra flowing at a constant amount for an extended period of time. You use those two styles of chakra manipulation and then add a new twist to it: a spin." Jiraiya smirked at his little pun.

"So I have to focus chakra into the balloon's water and spin it?" Naruko asked.

Jiraiya blinked. He honestly expected that he'd need to explain it again. "Alright then, you got the idea. Train until nightfall. By the way, the balloon has to break for you to pass."

"Alright!" Naruko cheered and started trying to break the balloon.

Jiraiya turned away and went over to a tree when he heard water splashing on the ground. "No way!" he shouted as he spun around.

"Ero-sennin, I accidentally pricked it with my nails," Naruko apologized.

Jiraiya felt his heartbeat start up again as he tossed her another balloon. "That's alright, here's another one. Be careful." He got to the tree and leaned against it, no longer feeling sleepy. _'Damn brat, almost gave me a heart attack. I don't know how I'd keep her quiet if she mastered step one so fast.'_

Naruko started to focus and, sure enough, the balloon jiggled a bit. "Spin complete!" Naruko announced, then started try to make it stronger.

Now Jiraiya felt his body relax. At this rate, she wouldn't finish for a while. He sat down. "I'll take a nap now."

"Hey! What are you- Forget it," the girl growled and went back to trying to break the balloon. An hour later, she was still trying and getting nowhere fast. "DAMN BALLOON!" she roared, "I can shout a building down, form chakra weapons and make a shroud that blocks any normal weapon, but I can't break this stupid balloon!"

That woke Jiraiya, and half the city. "What's the matter? Can't do it?" Naruko nervously hiding her eyes behind her bangs told him that he was right. "Ah man, there goes my peaceful nap time."

"Since you're awake and all, can you tell me how to break this balloon?" Naruko asked.

"I can't tell you how to break a balloon until you break a balloon," Jiraiya countered.

_'The hell? He's going to teach me how to break it after I break it?'_ Naruko thought.

Jiraiya sighed. "Fine then, I'll teach you a little bit. Normally you need to work this out, but a little tip won't hurt anyone. Except who you use this on later. Now show me how you spin the water."

Naruko nodded and started to spin the water inside the balloon.

"Which way is it going?" Jiraiya asked.

"Um, right?" Naruko guessed. It did feel like it was going left.

"Come here for a second," Jiraiya said. When Naruko was close enough, he put his hand on her head. _'The hell?'_ he thought. While the girl's head spoke of a left rotation, direct contact with her had him feel multiple chakra rotations within her, a total of ten. _'One for the body and a different rotation for each tail. Feels like I'm holding a rasengan.'_ He smiled. "You've got a right chakra rotation." He then went on to explain chakra rotation and tell the girl that she had been spinning the water the wrong way. "Don't worry about hand seals or anything, this jutsu doesn't need them. Just focus on controlling the chakra, that's key."

"Fine! Just watch, I'll master this in three days!" the girl shouted.

"This is one of the Yondaime Hokage's original jutsu. It took him three years to create and master it. This is an A-rank jutsu, so it isn't going to be that easy to master. Besides, this is just step one of three," Jiraiya said.

Naruko now knew what kind of jutsu she was learning. This would probably be the most difficult technique she learned.

"I'm going to the inn now, you coming?" Jiraiya called as he reached the edge of their training area.

"I'm going to keep trying," Naruko said, then did just that.

_[Next morning, after Naruko's bathroom visit]_

Naruko was paying for it. She had trained until she was ready to fall asleep and she had nothing to show for it.

"Nyaa! Nyaa!"

Naruko looked over and saw the inn owner's cat, Shū, playing with a balloon yo-yo. "Hey that's..." Naruko started, but the image struck her as cute and she stopped to watch the cat enjoy the toy.

The cat beat it around a bit, then picked it up and rolled onto his back to continue playing around. After hugging it and rolling it around in his paws, the balloon couldn't take it anymore. "NYAAA!" the cat cried out as the balloon suddenly burst and soaked him.

Naruko had a brainstorm.

"Wake up!" Naruko shouted as she burst into Jiraiya's room. When he didn't wake up, she grabbed another water balloon and popped it over his crotch.

Jiraiya suddenly woke up and looked down at himself. "Oh Kami no! I'm not old enough to start wetting the bed!"

"That wasn't you, that was me passing," Naruko announced.

A few moments, and a quick change of pants later, Jiraiya was sitting up. "Let's see it," he droned, not quite awake yet.

"Watch and learn," Naruko said as she held the balloon with both her hands. The balloon quickly started to deform wildly as she held her arms completely still. The balloon reached its limit and burst in Naruko's hands. "See!" she shouted, then saw Jiraiya asleep again, "WAKE UP!" She threw a balloon at his face for good measure.

"You didn't need to soak me again. I'm also tired from gathering information every night," Jiraiya grumbled. "Where did you get that idea from?"

Naruko held up a cat. "This is Shū, I saw him holding it while shaking it around and stuff. When it broke, I realized that I was just spinning the water around, but you and Shū had been making the water go all over the place."

"What about your hands?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruko frowned a bit. "Don't know, just felt right."

"Guess that means you passed stage one," Jiraiya said with a grin. He knew the girl was a long ways away from mastering the jutsu, since it was supposed to be a one handed jutsu. When he saw her shake her hand, he knew that the strain was starting to get to her. "Go get dressed, meet me outside and we'll get to work on stage 2."

Naruko cheered and quickly left. Had Jiraiya not looked away to get his own clothes in order, he would have seen a misty blackness waft off her hand as she left.

_[Naruko's training spot outside Tanzaku]_

"Time for stage 2," Jiraiya stated. After Naruko calmed down, he tossed her another ball.

"Not again!" she shouted as she tried to crush the rubber ball in her hand.

Jiraiya held up an identical ball. "Stage 2: break this ball." His ball burst apart.

"Easy!" Naruko shouted, the tried the method she used for the first part. It didn't work.

"First step: spin. Second step: power. Without water, you can't easily gauge how strong the chakra rotation is. Practice for a little while," Jiraiya said. When he saw that she was going to do just that, he started to walk away. "You keep at it, I'm going to see if I can get any leads on Tsunade."

"Wait! Aren't you going to give me hints, make sure I don't make mistakes?" Naruko called after the man.

"You want tips and monitoring, then pay me," Jiraiya said as he held his hand out. Naruko shouted at the man, making him sigh and walk away with a shake of his head.

Naruko went at it for two whole days, only going into town to get something to eat, sleeping in the clearing at night. On day three, Jiraiya walked up around lunch time. "Hey, go into town and get some grub," he commanded.

"I'm training," Naruko growled back.

"I am teaching you a jutsu," Jiraiya stated.

Naruko decided to not say anything about that. At least Kakashi had worked with Naruko to try and help her out, Jiraiya just told her what to do and went off to 'gather information.'

She went down to town and found something to eat and was on her way back when she saw a father and son enjoying time together. While she knew she didn't have a father, she had a mother and brother for a short while, adoptive parents and Jiraiya, her godfather. He didn't act like one though, and he had never done anything to make her early life better. Like when she was younger, she truly wondered if she had been abandoned by everyone because of something, because of what she was.

Even if she was on a journey with Jiraiya, it felt so lonely sometimes.

When she got back to the clearing, she decided to try and have some form of family moments with Jiraiya. "Do you think that...after lunch, can you help me a bit?"

"I'm too busy to do that, and we are going to eat while going into town," Jiraiya said, not knowing that he was hurting Naruko's feelings, "I can't go around babying you through a jutsu. You're a ninja, an adult, stop whining and figure this jutsu out in your own way."

Naruko hid the intense pain behind a grin. "I know that already, idiot."

_[Night, Naruko's training ground]_

Naruko was downed by the pain in her arms. All she felt through them was pain and more pain. Every time she molded the chakra, the pain would flare more and more the harder she...tried...

"That's it..." she muttered. Rather than feeling the water flow within the balloon, she could use the pain to measure how strong the rotation was. More pain meant a more powerful spin. All she had to do was push it up to the limits of pain and then let it go wild inside the balloon, sort of letting the chakra do what it wanted. She picked up the ball and started again. She pushed and pushed, then made the chakra go all over when it felt like her arms were tearing themselves apart.

The ball broke slightly and deflated.

"Good work," Jiraiya said as he came out of nowhere, making Naruko jump six feet in the air.

Naruko turned around while growling. "It just popped a little. I haven't made it explode yet."

"Don't be like that," Jiraiya said as he held out a popsicle, "progress is progress. Take this reward, shut up and I'll give you that tip you wanted. Hold out your hand." When the girl's hand was out, he drew a spiral on it.

"What...is this?" Naruko asked.

Jiraiya showed Naruko his own palm, which had the same mark permanently tattooed on. He then demonstrated how a person would focus on a dot within a blank scene. He then told her that she should focus her chakra to that point, to concentrate. "Just remember, visualize that mark in your mind and your chakra should focus over it," Jiraiya said.

"Alright, let's finish this stage!" Naruko cheered.

"Time to gather information," Jiraiya suddenly said as he started to walk away.

Naruko shook with rage, then took one of the balls and flung it at the man with all her strength.

Truth be told, Jiraiya was going to dodge it at first, then decided to catch it in his teeth to show how superior he was.

He should have dodged.

Whack... Thud!

Jiraiya blinked as he stared at the sky. The ball had hit him in the forehead. It hadn't had the power to knock him over, but the fact that he hadn't been able to see the fast moving ball had stunned him enough that he just tilted over after the ball hit him. Jiraiya got over it and flipped himself onto his feet, or tried to. He landed on the ball and slipped, landing on his back again.

Naruko laughed at him. "Serves you right for just trying to walk away like that," She managed between fits of laughter.

Jiraiya got up again and sighed. "I'm still going to walk away," he said. _'This is a jutsu that isn't taught in the normal fashion. Everyone has to do this training on their own. You have the ability to become the third user of this jutsu.'_

_[A few hours later]_

Had it been broken bodies and not broken rubber balls around the girl, Naruko would have been called a demon, which was the truth.

"More...concentration," Naruko groaned as she got up and tried to do just that. Just as she got to a point where she could concentrate.

Jiraiya falling, then falling again.

Naruko doubled over with laughter. "T-t-that was too funny!" she gasped, "I can't get it out of my head!" She looked at the fallen ball and cracked up again.

The pain took over again.

"Ugh. Got to get this over with," the empress groaned. She rolled onto her back and looked at a tree whose branches formed a spiral. Naruko remembered Jiraiya mentioning rotations, then she remembered one of the depictions of the Kyūbi, with its tails looking like a vortex behind it. "Spinning. Central point. Uh, what do they call that part again?" Naruko wondered aloud. How did she remember it again? Axes? Oh, axis! That's it.

Naruko got up and looked at the marking on her palm. She grabbed the ball and held it, imagining a matching mark on her other hand, both being connected. She made the center part red and focused her chakra, making it appear as nine waves of chakra spinning off the center of the pillar.

Naruko made her chakra go wild and it created a small crater as the ball was obliterated, blowing the kitsune back to the edge of the clearing with the force.

Naruko looked up and saw a familiar person. "Hi Ero-sennin. I did it."

"Yeah, you did," the man said with a bit of pride in his voice.

"Third one now?" the girl asked.

"I'll tell you as we go. We're going to meet Tsunade tomorrow," Jiraiya stated.

**A/N~**

**This one was easier than the last, probably because I was creating Tama's fighting style from scratch as I wrote it. I scrapped at least six different combat styles, and at least four fights for each, before settling on her not using her ring blade too much.**

**I've also decided to completely remake Naruko's part II outfit. It will be more modern than I originally intended, but it will have a white fur collar. Or maybe I'll make it blue or something. Nah, I'm doing something with blue fur in The Greatest, so I'll figure it out later.**

**As a further note, I'm an idiot. It's Kekkei Genkai, not Kekkai Genkai. Whatever, I'll make sure to get it right from now on.**

**Special: Naruko's nightwear-**

When going to bed, Naruko wears a pair of red shorts and a long black sweater that is more like a skimpy dress. Jiraiya and Kakashi tried to make her believe that all girls went to bed wearing only a large shirt that buttoned up in the front, but Sakura and Ino made sure to get her something that wasn't indecent. While the sweater is tight enough to show off her figure, the sleeves are long and loose enough so that her hands are mostly covered. Sakura chose the shorts while Ino chose the shirt. Sakura, after seeing how it looked on Naruko, called Ino a pervert.

Ino denied nothing.

**Omake~**

**Formfitting?**

Naruko had tried the other two on and decided to try the last one on. She had to admit that the outfits hugged a little too close to her form and...well, they fit _too_ well. That worried her a bit.

She started to pulled it on and ran into a problem.

"Eh?" She grunted as she tried to get it on. "Why is it so tight around my chest and hips! Which one is this?"

_[Konoha]_

Thunk!

Neji looked at the kunai that had almost cut off the tip of his nose. He then looked over at Tenten, who was furiously grinding a sharpening stone along the edge of another kunai.

"Tenten, I think it's sharp enough," Neji said, fear creeping into his voice.

"Shut up!" the girl snapped. _'Why do I feel so pissed off all of a sudden? It's like someone is mocking me without trying!'_ Tenten thought as she sharpened the kunai to have an even deadlier edge.

**Formfitting!**

Jiraiya had been peeking on a nearby bathhouse when he checked in on Naruko. "Holy damn!" he gasped. While she was a brat, her usual outfit didn't do her justice. Screw five years, two or three years would have many men wanting to go after that piece of jail bait. Now he may be a pervert, but he had limits and two of them were going after his goddaughter and underage girls.

"I wonder if I can get Guy to make one for Tsu-hime," Jiraiya wondered as he imagined the suit wrapping around every inch of that woman, making it painfully obvious how full her figure was.

SPUUURT!

Jiraiya would lay on the rooftop till morning, a very happy grin on his face.

**Jutsu Index-**

**Devolved State:** A state where the user becomes an avatar of mindless destruction. Kurama losing control of himself led to all the stories concerning his powers and viciousness. For Naruko, it is characterized by the chakra networks of her tails appearing, then forming a chakra shroud wrapping around her body, taking on the form of a fox. The user tends to just blast their chakra around, forming crude chakra forms to act as weapons. This form gave birth to the Kitsune Katana. Originally sealed away in the bloodline, Naruko appears to have unlocked it somehow, possibly as a side effect of the curse seal on her neck.

**Majesty State:** The counter to Devolved state's madness. Rather than blindly throw chakra around, the user gains the power to focus it into solid forms to use as weapons. In a sense, this form allows the user to have complete and total control over their chakra. The shroud worn over the body is of a lighter color than Devolved state's shroud, but it still possesses the same level of protection, possibly more due to it being under control. The tufts of solidified chakra on the wrists are used to form the weapons. This form gave birth to the Kitsune Yari and Kyūbi Katana.

**Kitsune Katana:** Nothing more than a katon formed into a katana's shape. Despite being fire, it has an edge that can compete with most normal blades.

**Kitsune Yari:** A highly concentrated chakra spear. It's piercing power far exceeds that of the chidori. It can be used as a melee weapon, as Tsurenai did. Its flame-like prongs are believed to be a tribute to the Will of Fire that she admired.

**Kyūbi Katana:** The Kitsune Katana, but formed out of pure chakra like the Kitsune Yari. As expected, its power level is greater, but it is also said to be very hard to form and control. Unlike the Kitsune Katana, the Kyūbi Katana has a fixed form and length.

**?** _[Unnamed barrier technique]_: A small twist on the Devolved state. Instead of merging with Naruko to give her a shroud, the tail networks wrap around her to form a crude barrier. Itachi has noted that it is similar to the Susanoo ribcage, and it can take Sasuke's full on chidori with no trouble, but its full capabilities are unknown.

**Responses-**

**DarkLordK:** I bet half the guys (and maybe a few girls) read those choices of death and wanted to go out like that too. And you're going to keep reading my mind! You evil, evil fanfic reader! Just don't go spoiling the story for anyone. Then again, you'll probably do it by accident anyways. Now I got two psychics to worry about...

Ino pouncing Naruko will be sudden, coming from nowhere at all. Yes, I've finally decided when it will happen! I decided the pounce will be somewhat tame, but still enough to get Jiraiya going.

**SuperNeos2:** I'm glad that you like this fic. And that's alright, just pretty much every review last chapter completely ignored my hard work of originality. It didn't bother me at all. (uses tears to mop the floor) Doesn't bother me at all.

**God of all:** Continuing story.

**Irish Shift:** Naruko won't be turning into a full bijū form until Part II. If she had changed during Part I, she would have been slaughtered the moment she changed back due to Konoha's hatred for her.

**Wirdo:** Naruko's training as a bijū is pretty low right now, so she is really more like a ninjutsu using Inuzuka right now. She is steadily becoming more and more like a bijū as time goes along.

**Sky Zephyrus:** Are you talking about when she trounced Neji or when she stabbed Gaara? If you are talking about the fight with Neji, that was her Devolved state, and it isn't good, just like Tama said. If you are talking about the terminator-like battle style she used on Gaara, that was her Majesty state, this fic's version of the yang chakra mode. As you can guess, it is overpowered to hell and back right now. She will be able to use Majesty state at will in Part II, but I have already set a limiter on it so it won't break the story.

**Gaara king of sand:** Periods are really useful, though many women would disagree. Makes it so much easier to understand what a person is writing. Anyway, here I go. Thanks for saying the battle was better than canon, though I only changed a couple things. Thanks for understanding what I said about illusions. They aren't all that useful in canon either, so most people ignore genjutsu completely in their fics.

When Kakashi told Sakura that Sasuke's attitude was the work of the curse seal, it was utter BS so she would stop worrying. At no point did anyone say that the curse seal affected a person's personality. At the most, it just seems to remove the person's inhibitions, making them more prone to violence when it's active. Sasuke is actually completely canon in this fic. He just hasn't quite shown his dark side yet. He only completely entered the realm of asshole-dome after Tsunade woke him up from his Tsukuyomi induced coma.

**Spazzyninjafish:** I do have another suggestion on how to break free, but I don't think you want to cross that line with a sibling... I know someone who cried out in class too, after I lightly blew on the back of her neck. That was fun. XD (I told her that putting her hair up in a pony tail was a bad idea, but she wanted to copy me!)

I'm an extremely fast runner. At a full sprint I can outrun a bike. Sadly my breaks don't work as well. I ran into a bike that was coming around a corner and the screw on the wheel dug into my leg, bounced out after hitting bone, then rammed back in to make a second bone touching hole. Not the most pleasant experience I can remember (vaguely, I passed out twice, from PAIN) but at least it isn't like my newest injury. One of my toes had a tendon completely severed, making it so I lost most upward motion on the toe. To make matters worse, the healing skin has fused onto the muscle and I now have to try and gently work them apart. If they don't come apart on their own, I'll probably need surgery to to separate them. It really is a problem since the skin pulls and hurts the muscle. If there wasn't so much risk involved with the tendon, I'd see if they could fix that too.

Rather than stealthy, I'm just silent on all fronts. I can reduce the sound of my footsteps at will, even with shoes on. I'm also able to mask my own 'presence,' the sense people have when I'm nearby. Kind of a neat trick really. People hate it when I sneak up on them. I've been called a 'modern day follower of the Creed' on numerous occasions. Wasn't until I got one of the games that I noticed my clothes and demeanor are similar to that of an AC assassin.

I find distraction to be my little cure for a wandering mind. I'm either reading, writing, playing a game, watching a TV show or listening to music so my mind doesn't start wandering into depression city. It's a better alternative to what most people choose: alcohol, drugs or other guilty 'pleasures.'

The past is something everyone looks back on and wonders if they could have done better, some people just have it worse than others. If I had talked to that girl I liked back in high school, would I be a better person? Would I be happier than I am now? How many people that I know now would be strangers to me if I had kept attending a school that made me angry all the time? I then remind myself that I am me and I chose for myself. Whatever this world throws at me will help me shape myself into a better, stronger person. My experiences in life is what influences my writing and such. Some of my OCs contain fragments of my personality, just so I can spread a bit of my harsher experience to others without them suffering the costs I have.

Truth be told, I don't act any different online or on the street. Well, I'm a bit meeker in real life and I wouldn't talk so much. I'm one of those people whose mind goes so fast it messes up their speech. I don't stutter, but I will sometimes trip on words. Since most people just laugh when I make a mistake, I tend to remain silent. I am a nice guy, it's just that most people get put off by my looks and general attitude. I can't help it that I look pissed off all the time, I can't switch out my sharp eyes for softer ones. I've also had so little experience smiling that I tend to avoid it, covering my face when I do smile because it feels wrong. That is why I mostly scowl, just feels natural to me.

As for keeping people at arm's length, I do that for their sake. Actually I just do that because I've always been ostracized in groups, so I have a loner streak in me. Unlike most people, I didn't fit into any of the usual school groups and I tended to have bad relations with them all because I don't care for social hierarchy and all that. I also had many female friends, so many guys hated me for it, especially when a girl showed more than a friendly interest in me while I kept what we had as a friendship. I do believe one guy said I could pick any flower from the garden, but chose to just enjoy the scent of the entire garden. I don't quite know what that means still, so whatever. I saw them as friends, that's all there is to it.

Well, I do prefer playing as a female in MMORPGs or single player RPGs, but that is just a preference. Probably has something to do with me wanting to protect women. It's also because there are so few women as the main protagonist, so I decided to break the mold. The fact that I can easily write from a girl's perspective and adjust my speech style to a more feminine style probably makes me blur the gender lines a bit. I figure the name 'Excele' would tell people that I'm a guy. That and it's the name I decided to use as a permanent pen name. If I do write a book, it will never have my name on it, it will have the name you know me by. I'd rather be the man hidden behind the curtain rather than the great and powerful Oz himself.

I tend to put the longer replies at the end because I don't want people who want a quick answer to have to go through a long response to find theirs. I don't think people read the other responses, just look for the one addressed to them.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Healing the medic

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. This sucks...**

**Quick note: I made Tsunade a bit of a bitch at first, but she will become her canon self later.**

One moment, Shizune and Tsunade were looking at Tanzaku Castle, the next it was replaced with a pile of rubble with a snake resting on top of it. Atop the serpents head was a face Tsunade had never hoped to see again.

Tsunade had to hold back her bile. "Orochimaru..."

"Tsunade-hime, aren't medics supposed to be on hand to help the injured?" Orochimaru asked. He dismissed the snake and landed on the ground, a young man joining him. "Now don't glare like that, I just came to talk, maybe offer you something for medical care."

Tsunade noted all the man's symptoms instantly. Tired eyes that had taken on a greyish color, his skin had a sallow look to it, his body twitched in micro spasms and his stance spoke of great fatigue. She could sense his chakra, as twisted as it had always been, rising and falling at an erratic rate. His breathing was ragged and it seemed to keep hitching, almost like he was on the verge of having his lungs fail. She didn't know what had happened to him, but he obviously deserved it.

"I see you've noticed the signs. We need you," the young man said.

"I'm not a medic anymore..." Tsunade paused, letting the young man know that she wanted his name.

"Yakushi Kabuto, medic. And there is no one else in the world who can cure this," Kabuto persisted, "you are the most talented medic alive right now. Even I can't cure it and I'm talented. It must be you."

"I see no wounds and I know of no poison that can do this to a man. What happened to you?" Tsunade asked.

Orochimaru shifted his robe aside, allowing Tsunade to see the intricate marking on his chest, a mark that looked like Tama's unusual dōjutsu wrapped in chains. "I'm sure you know of this, considering you've seen it before."

Tsunade gasped. "That's Shiratama's Shikei! But how? Why?"

"Just from when I tried to add her and Sarutobi-sensei to my Legends of Konoha collection," Orochimaru said, "they even broke the rest of the set. For now."

"So you've been marked for death. A fitting punishment for a bastard that tries to destroy his home and teacher," Tsunade spat.

"Don't be like that, anything that is mortal is bound to be destroyed. You know this more than anyone since you lost everyone precious to you," Orochimaru taunted. He then remembered how the younger of the two died, being torn apart by Orochimaru himself while in search of Hashirama's Mokuton during a battle. Dan had just been for fun, though disguising himself as a foreign nin had cut into the fun a little. He loved that shocked recognition his victims showed, wondering why one of the Sannin was carving up an ally. "You couldn't find such beautiful, brutal deaths now. How unfortunate."

Shizune and Kabuto had a short duel with each other. Shizune and Kabuto each proved to be powerful.

"Shizune, don't do that again," Tsunade warned. The reason wasn't because she wanted to hear Orochimaru or Kabuto, it was because the young woman might just kill herself fighting these two. "Orochimaru, you're still a cold blooded bastard. I thought you were a genius."

BAM!

A large section of the wall came apart as if someone set off a focused explosion where Tsunade's fist was.

"Bring them up again and I'll reduce you to dust, saving Tama-chan the trouble of hunting your scaly ass down," Tsunade muttered dangerously.

_'No wonder she never got married,'_ Kabuto thought as he remembered her information. "We are here to make a deal with you: medical treatment for a favor from Orochimaru-sama."

"The only thing I want from him is his bloody remains streaked from here to Kusa," Tsunade stated, "you have five seconds to get out of my sight before they need a shovel and a bag to clean you up."

Orochimaru was calm during the entire countdown as his assistant tried again and again to get the woman to calm down. He smirked when she reached one. "Edo Tensei. I'll use it to bring back Dan and Nawaki to you."

That stopped Tsunade.

"Do we have a deal?" the snake asked as his darkening tongue slid out in a serpentine fashion.

_[Gambling Den, other side of Tanzaku Town]_

"Yeah I know that sucker. Said she was going to a certain little shop to pay off her debt to us, surprised us when she came back with the proper amount too," one of the dealers said, "said she was going somewhere else before leaving town."

"Where?" Jiraiya asked.

The dealer smirked. "We don't deal in freebies here, though I did give you one. For this one, we bet. You win, my lips loosen. I win, your wallet empties. Deal?"

Jiraiya knew that he had a chance at winning, unlike Tsunade. Heck, he'd admit that he was a great gambler. "Fine then."

The man rattled the dice in his cup and slammed it down. "Even of odd?"

Being fifty, an even number, Jiraiya decided. "Even."

The man lifted the cup, revealing the dice to be odd. "Sorry bud, but you just lost."

"Damn!" Jiraiya grunted. He really needed to get to Tsunade before she skipped town. After leaving a town, it was like she bounced off these unseen bumpers and took a wild route to whatever town she got to in the end. In other words, he'd lose her trail for a month at least.

"Tell ya what, I'll give you a second chance," the dealer said, "this time, you lose ALL your money if I win. You win, you get the info, your money back and an extra thousand ryo for the road."

"Dammit!" Naruko growled as the ball in her hands exploded in a violent whirlwind. "I can't get this to work!"

Jiraiya's eye twitched because one of the exposed die had rolled over, making it even. _'Damn, why couldn't she screw up a few moments ago?'_ He sighed. "Fine, I agree."

The dealer had a smirk that sent a shiver down Jiraiya's spine. "Good. Hey brat!" he called.

Naruko looked over at the man. "Huh, me?"

"Yeah, come over here for a moment," the dealer called.

Naruko came over. "What is it?"

"This man here just lost all his money to me trying to learn something. I'm going to give you the chance to win it all back for him, just guess whether the dice are even or odd while I have them covered with this cup," the dealer said as he tossed the dice into the cup, rattled them around and slammed the cup onto the ground, "now, even or odd?"

Jiraiya was scared. With one word, Naruko could destroy Konoha for a while. But more importantly, she could ruin him and the Icha Icha series! His good looks would work on women, but men demanded a few ryo in their palms. Without his money, he'd never find Tsunade.

Naruko didn't even think. "What do you think it is?"

The dealer quirked his eye brow. This was a new one. "Hmm, I think its odd," he lied. Of course it was even. He had switched to a loaded set of dice. He was no idiot, of course he knew of Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Sannin, two people who had access to large sums of money. They HAD to lose at this game. One fair game, then the house would almost always win!

"I think its even then," Naruko stated, feeling that tingle from the man. She had a feeling that it was some sort of lie detecting power she had. By this time, Naruko had completely forgotten that she was a negative emotion detector, deceit being among those emotions.

The dealer unwillingly moved the cup, revealing the dice and their even number. "Fine, I'll tell you where she went," the dealer grumbled as he forked over the money he had taken from Jiraiya, in addition to the thousand ryo, "she went to this small casino place to cover her loses here." He then pointed it out on a map.

"Hey! I wanted to know where she went after she gave you the money to cover her debt!" Jiraiya shouted.

The dealer couldn't help but smile. "I never told you which location I would reveal, nor did you specify which one you wanted to know. We could bet on this new piece of information."

"No thanks!" Jiraiya said as he dragged Naruko out of the building. He'd learned his lesson for today.

Twenty minutes later, Jiraiya was talking to one of the many employees at the slots shop. Naruko took an interest in one of the machines after noticing a coin on the ground. After a few moments of looking at the machine, then she put the money in the slot and pulled down the arm.

"So she and her companion decided to go to-" Jiraiya started.

A tinkering song hit his ears and then three dongs. After a moment of pitying the poor loser, he heard the telltale song of a jackpot. He whipped around and saw Naruko staring at the quickly filling tray.

"Tanzaku Castle..." Jiraiya finished. _'Damn! Tsunade would love this kid.'_

Ten minutes later, Naruko was hugging Gama-chan and her brand new fox shaped wallet, dubbed Yui-chan. "You two look so cute when filled with ryo," she crowed.

_'Got to keep her away from gambling. She's Tsunade's polar opposite. The Legendary Drainer, Uzumaki Naruko!'_ Jiraiya thought as he remembered a younger, flatter Tsunade. At least Naruko had breasts, though they were small. "Tanzaku Castle isn't too far from here, for ninja, let's get a move on," Jiraiya said. Naruko put her wallets away and followed Jiraiya.

When they got there, Naruko pointed out the painfully obvious. "Where is this Tanzaku castle?"

Jiraiya didn't waste any time and made his way up the path with Naruko in tow. Sadly, they found the ruined castle and a ruined wall. They learned of a massive snake destroying the place, but heard nothing of a blond woman leaving the scene.

"Damn! All this frustration has me wanting to do a quick bit of research!" Jiraya groaned as they made their way back to town.

"Now! But aren't we supposed to go look for Tsunade?" Naruko shouted.

"Quiet down a little runt. After running into Orochimaru and going nuts like that, she'll want to get hammered. After getting hammered, she'll sleep for about sixteen hours. After that, she'll go blow all her cash on slots and dice. We got time," Jiraiya said, then his face switched to a far more perverted one, "and this would be a great time for me to teach you some things you should already know about."

"I don't need to know anything perverted," Naruko growled.

"Who said it's perverted? Do you know anything about women?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruko looked away. "I know enough..."

Jiraiya laughed. "Nothing beats a pure, innocent, lesbian pervert. C'mon, I'll teach you some things that you do need to know if you want to ever make that Sakura girl happy."

_[Fifteen minutes later, a hot spring]_

Naruko was in heaven. Well, an inch wood separated her from a promised land she could legally enter, but this was better than being there herself. The little hole that showed her this paradise was one Jiraiya had used chakra to make, just for her.

"Look at that blond's legs," Jiraiya hissed, "they go on and on!"

"G-Girl with black hair... look at those hips!" Naruko hissed back.

Jiraiya spotted the girl. "Good eye. I'll make sure to show you my special map later, the one that displays all the holes in walls and fences where women are naked."

Naruko almost drooled, imagining what she could see if Sakura happened to be in one of those places. It was then that she spotted another woman. "Two o'clock. That brunette with short hair looks amazing!"

Jiraiya looked around until his eyes found the woman in question, then he felt his heart skip a beat. "T-t-that's...Shizune!"

"Huh?" Naruko asked.

BOOM!

The world wildly spun as Naruko and a piece of fence briefly became airborne. Naruko grabbed the fence and stuck her feet to it with chakra, righting herself, landing and riding the fence piece along the top of the rather expansive bath.

"Ride that wave!" a sporty, tanned girl cheered.

Naruko swayed herself and the fence, making it turn on the water so she was facing the person who struck the fence.

"Trying to corrupt a young girl now? That's a new level of perversion even for you, Jiraiya," a blond woman growled at the quivering red and white blob that was Jiraiya.

"Hey!" Naruko shouted as she stepped onto the water, "don't go beating up on Ero-sennin. I need him to help me finish learning a jutsu!"

The woman glared down at Jiraiya. "It better not be that Tōton jutsu..." She looked at Naruko for an answer since Jiraiya was in no state to answer.

"It's spiny and round... Wait, I don't even know what the jutsu is called!" Naruko shouted, just realizing that.

_'The rasengan?'_ Tsunade thought in alarm. "You two are coming with me. Shizune! Get out of there and meet us at the bar!" Tsunade ordered as she grabbed the quivering mess that was her former teammate and dragged him away.

_[Another fifteen minutes later. A nearby bar]_

Jiraiya and Naruko sat quietly as Tsunade worked on her third bottle of sake. Her third!

Tsunade put the glass down. "First Orochimaru, now you. Feels like a damn reunion or something."

Jiraiya decided it was safe to speak. "Did he say anything?"

Tsunade shot a look at Shizune. "No, nothing at all."

Naruko felt that sensation for the woman and knew that she was lying. It didn't sit well with her, a lying Hokage...

"I won't beat around the bush. We were sent by Sarutobi-sensei to ask you to become the Godaime Hokage," Jiraiya suddenly said.

Naruko almost choked on her food, which was bad because it was so good. She quickly leveled her throat out and drank a glass of water to force the food down as she swallowed. This was the first time she heard of this!

"So Orochimaru really did attack Konoha..." Tsunade muttered.

"That son of a bitch almost killed Tama and the old man! I don't care if he was a Sannin, I'll make sure he pays for every life that attack took!" Naruko shouted.

"Who is the loud mouthed pervert girl?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya quickly looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention. "Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko Kyūbi," he quickly whispered, making Shizune look at the girl in alarm.

Tsunade was confused. "What's with that name? And that last part..."

Naruko was pissed off, but leaned in so she could be heard while whispering. "I'm Tsurenai's daughter, the Sanban Kyūbi and the empress of all foxes."

_'A bijū without a host, isn't that dangerous?'_ Tsunade thought.

"Why the hell is a gambling addicted drunk like her becoming Hokage? Kakashi-sensei would make a better Hokage and he's late for everything!" Naruko shouted.

Jiraiya shoved some food in Naruko's mouth to keep her quiet for a few moments. "Do you accept Sensei's nomination?" he asked his former teammate.

Tsunade thought hard and came up with her answer. "No, I can't ever become Hokage."

"So formal, just like when you turned down all my dates," Jiraiya said.

Naruko finally swallowed the food that had been put in her mouth. "Then at least come back and heal Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei!"

"Calm down. Even if she says no now, she'll come around. Tsunade's the only person who can become Hokage," Jiraiya said.

"This 'girl' your apprentice?" Tsunade asked. She made it no secret that she believed the bijū to be what the history books painted them to be: demons out for wanton destruction. Even if her grandfather had told her differently, he had no proof to back up his claims. History labeled the Kyūbi as a terrible beast that lived for blood and destruction, so this girl was a danger.

Jiraiya caught that little bit in Tsunade's question, but ignored it. "Yeah, sort of."

"Funny, I thought I'd never see a 'girl' who was ruder, cruder, more perverted, weaker, dumber and with even less skill than you. Minato was much, much better," Tsunade said.

"That's harsh, for both of us. And nobody can compare to Minato. That kind of shinobi only comes along once each century," Jiraiya said.

"Handsome, smart, intelligent and strong, all those words fit the Yondaime perfectly," Tsunade said, "but he died young, all for a village, all because he was a Hokage." She looked at the two who had come to find her. "Betting your life isn't like betting money. You can get money to replace what you lost, but you can't get a new life after losing your own. My grandfather and his brother both tried to bring peace to Konoha, only to die like a pair of fools following a fleeting dream."

"I think it's time to stop drinking," Jiraiya tried.

"It isn't the sake talking, it's the wisdom that comes with fifty years of life. Sensei is older than me, but he also kept chasing the same dream, and it nearly cost him and Shiratama their lives. How many died in the attack? He should have just had someone else take over a few years ago. Then again, anyone who becomes Hokage is destined for death, because it means you have chosen to die for stupidity," Tsunade stated.

Naruko got up on the table, scattering everything all over the place, as Jiraiya shot to his feet.

"Take it back!" Jiraiya shouted. Nobody insulted Sarutobi-sensei like that.

Naruko was far more direct.

She sucker punched Tsunade in the face.

Shizune didn't even get a chance to move as her mentor fell onto her from the blow. Her, Tsunade and the pig all fell into a heap on the floor.

Naruko glared down at the woman as her eyes shifted to the slitted eyes the Kyūbi should have, chakra rising in response to her anger. "Anyone who insults any Hokage, or the title of Hokage, will get their asses kicked by me!" she shouted, making the entire structure rattle. Shizune noticed that the girl's canines and nails had lengthened slightly, making her more feral looking.

"Holy shit! Earthquake?" a customer gasped as he got up.

"Did that girl just hit that woman?" another asked.

Jiraiya decided to drag everyone outside before it got too bad. Tsunade, surprisingly, gave very little resistance. Jiraiya made sure to leave some money before he took off.

Once outside, he tossed Naruko and Tsunade a small distance away from each other.

"You little monster," Tsunade spat as she got up, healing her slightly swollen cheek, "you think you can just hit me and get away with it?"

"Thanks for the compliment, old hag!" Naruko growled back, "I'll kick your ass, tie you up and drag you back to Konoha to heal my sensei and teammate, then I'll toss you out so you go on your drunken bullshit parade."

"Drunken bullshit parade? What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"You're a liar and you know it. Even if you badmouthed the past Hokage, you were lying through your teeth. I don't know why you did it, but I'm going to beat the answer out of you," Naruko said.

Tsunade was starting to get pissed off with all the 'old hag' insults being spewed at her. "Even if you are a bijū, I'll kick YOUR ass with just one finger," Tsunade boasted.

"You need a foot to kick, senile old hag!" Naruko roared as she rushed forward, throwing shuriken forward.

Tsunade saw the blade and dodged it with ease, then stepped back as Naruko's claw punched through the air. Tsunade went to grab it, but Naruko twisted around and kicked Tsunade's ankle. With the woman off balance, Naruko shot a claw towards the woman's face again.

Tsunade's hand rested on Naruko's head, stopping the girl with greater reach. "You lose," Tsunade said, then flicked her finger into the girl's head, sending her flying back while her forehead protector bounced along the ground.

Naruko crashed into a small cart, plowing through it and stopping a good five feet away from it.

Jiraiya stared at Naruko, not seeing the girl get up from the blow. "Tsunade! I think you went too hard on her!"

"It's her own fault for being so damn weak with such a huge, impossible dream like being Hokage," Tsunade grunted.

Naruko twitched, then dragged her claws through the dirt as she got up. "I'm not done yet," the girl said as she got up, blood dripping down from her head wound, forcing one eye shut to protect it.

"She revived. Could it have something to do with me saying Hokage?" Tsunade mused to herself, "hey demon! Why do you like that word so much?"

"Because I will become Hokage," Naruko growled, reminding Tsunade of her lost loved ones. When Naruko saw the woman off balance, she focused her chakra, feeling the power she should have within her. It was becoming easier and easier to use her true power now. As Naruko was now, she knew she could do it.

When Tsunade came out of her little trance, she was shocked to see the girl coming at her with mostly stable, blood red rasengan. _'What? How long has Jiraiya been training her?'_ Tsunade thought in shock as the girl rushed her. Knowing how dangerously powerful the jutsu was in the hands of a human, Tsunade quickly jumped out of the way as Naruko's incomplete rasengan stuck the ground, tearing it apart with a less than average, but still impressive, crater of twisted earth. The backlash from the unstable jutsu blasted Naruko back, sending her skidding across the ground. Shizune went to make sure the girl was alright as Tsunade landed on a low roof.

"So you really were teaching her the rasengan! What a waste," Tsunade shouted to her perverted ex-teammate, "the only people who should use that jutsu are you and the Yondaime, not some little monster girl. Nobody can learn it, so don't go teaching impossible things. She can never become Hokage and she needs to get that little fact into her brain before it's too late."

Naruko growled and vanished in a blur of black and red.

"Hiraishin!" Tsunade squeaked, then found herself shoved off the rooftop she had been standing on.

"Three days. Give me three days and I'll master this rasen...whatever!" Naruko shouted from the spot Tsunade had occupied a moment before.

"Don't go throwing around promises that you can't keep," Tsunade warned as she stood up.

Naruko looked straight down at the woman. "If I promise something, I'll make it happen. It doesn't matter if I'm the Kyūbi, an empress or anything. I don't promise the impossible."

"Fine then, I accept your little challenge. Of course, I'll give you a week to master it. You show me a completed rasengan and I'll not only say that you COULD become a Hokage, I'll also give you this necklace," Tsunade offered as she tugged on the necklace she thought had killed her brother and lover.

"It looks like a piece of junk," Naruko muttered.

"That necklace is damn expensive. You could buy three mountains and still be rolling in ryo," Jiraiya stated.

"Who'd want to buy a mountain, and how much do they cost anyway?" Naruko asked. Wait, as the empress of the foxes, didn't she already own land and lots of money? She never thought to ask Tama if she had an inheritance!

"If you don't master the rasengan, all this is mine," Tsunade said as she hefted Yui-chan and Gama-chan.

"WHEN!" Naruko wailed. Did all Sannin techniques have some sort of wallet attraction ability?

Naruko spent her time wallowing in pity as Jiraiya asked Tsunade out to drink in spite of the woman obviously having enough for one day. Shizune offered to take Naruko to a hotel, seeing as how all the money the girl had was currently in Tsunade's possession.

_[Hotel, Shizune and Naruko's room]_

Rather than get the girl a room of her own and leave her alone, Shizune decided to share a two bed room with her for various reasons. One of them was medical treatment.

"Sit still Naruko-chan," Shizune said as she pulled a few splinters out of the girl's arm with her healing jutsu. Much of the girl's injuries had long since healed, but it seemed a few were persistent.

Naruko watched as the wood came free with very little pain and the wounds sealing themselves after ward in the green light. "That's cool," Naruko muttered as Shizune quickly removed all the splinters from her right arm.

"Thank you," the black haired woman said with a smile. She was skilled, but nowhere near as skilled as Tsunade was. It had something to do with her being better at traditional ninjutsu rather than genjutsu, which she was okay at. Luckily, her talents allowed her to make a few unique jutsu. Shizune fixed Naruko left arm up and moved to the right.

Naruko looked down at the ground as she was healed. "Does she hate me?"

Shizune was so shocked at the sudden question that she accidentally started to seal a wound over a splinter, though she quickly fixed her mistake. "I don't really think so. If Tsunade-sama wanted to, she could have buried you fifty feet under the ground with that blow." When she finished with the arm, she stopped. "Tsunade-sama believes the history books since they can be proven true and all history books paint the Kyūbi as a monster out for the thrill of the hunt."

"That was...Kurama-jiji..." Naruko said.

"Kurama...jiji?" Shizune asked. It sounded kinda funny.

"The Ichiban Kyūbi, my grandfather Kurama," Naruko explained, "all those stories came from a power he had, the Devolved State, an ability that made him powerful at the cost of sanity."

Shizune felt a little bad for her master's actions. "I didn't know. If everyone knew, maybe they wouldn't hate you so much," Shizune offered.

Naruko hid her eyes behind her bangs. "No, they'd hate me more since I have the same power." She let Shizune think for a few moments before continuing. "I never knew him, but I think he hated the power almost as much as I do. But he used it because he knew that, in spite of the dangers, he might be able to control it enough to protect what mattered to him."

Shizune now knew that the girl was the sort of person she needed to talk to. In spite of the incredible power the girl could wield, it seemed that she was willing to seal it all away until she needed it to protect what was important to her. Most people who had her power would do what Orochimaru did and try to get back at those who wronged them.

"Naruko-chan, I wanted to talk to you about the bet..." Shizune began.

"What about it?" Naruko asked. She needed to find a new training spot so she could master the ra-ra...Rans whatever it was!

Shizune swallowed hard. "It's about Tsunade-sama and the necklace."

"I don't care about that stupid necklace or that stupid old hag," Naruko pouted.

"Don't talk about her that way! You know nothing at all!" Shizune shouted, then realized she was out of line, "Sorry, it's just that she's been like this ever since she lost everything."

Naruko growled, a deep noise that actually scared Shizune a bit. "She lost everything and she's acting like a bitch because of that?"

Shizune was shocked. "Wh-what?" Could she have been wrong about Naruko?

Naruko opened the window and stepped out slightly. "I never had anything, still have nothing, and I never once tried to run away."

"But you're the Kyūbi! You said you were an empress!" Shizune protested.

"So what? I know two kitsune who are loyal to me, but that doesn't change anything at all. I live in a broken down apartment, eat nearly stale food every day unless someone else brings me good food or I eat out at the only store in Konoha that will give me anything. I have virtually no friends and more enemies than most Kage could boast." Naruko looked back at the woman. "I hate it when people think that having nothing to lose is better than losing something. They don't know anything at all." Naruko jumped out onto the awning.

"Where are you going?" Shizune asked.

"To master the...whatever that jutsu is called," Naruko stated.

"But the necklace! If you take it, you'll die!" Shizune shouted.

"What? She trying to kill me with a poisoned necklace or something?" Naruko asked.

Shizune shook her head. "Ever since Tsunade put that necklace on, it hasn't acknowledged anyone else as its owner. Everyone else who has worn that necklace, her little brother Nawaki, my uncle and her lover Dan, all of them have died and it returned as the only thing unscathed."

"Then I guess it's alright if I take it, since I'm not going to die before I become Hokage," Naruko said, then left.

The next six days were a blur for everyone. Shizune spent each night worrying that Naruko had somehow killed herself. She knew her master was alright since she was either out with Jiraiya. gambling or secretly spying on Naruko's training. Jiraiya was Jiraiya, so he was okay.

On her little training ground, Naruko knew she was forcing herself too hard. Several trees were shattered beyond recognition and even more rocks had steadily been broken down to rubble, but the rasengan was still falling apart just before she landed the blow. She just couldn't produce all that power and keep it together without the pain interfering.

"Need to find a way to..." Naruko groaned, tried to mold her chakra and fell to the ground, passing out from extreme strain. Shizune found her a few minutes later, the damaged area almost as shocking as the panting, battered girl who lay in the center of it. She quickly took the girl away to the hotel room where Tsunade informed her that the kitsune would be asleep for a whole day at least.

"Never seen anyone burn skin that badly through training with a jutsu..." Shizune muttered.

Tsunade was hating herself right now for putting the girl through all this. Even if she wasn't human, nobody should have to destroy themselves because of another person's wishes.

"Don't heal Orochimaru," Shizune pleaded. When Tsunade was silent, she quickly approached the woman. "Promise me that you won't do it!"

"And if I don't?" Tsunade asked without looking at the younger woman.

"I'll keep you in this room," Shizune threatened as she got ready to fight.

Tsunade practically blurred past her student. "You forgot who I am."

Shizune fell to the ground.

_[Day 7]_

"Wake up!"

Shizune came to and saw a completely healed Naruko standing over her. She remembered how Naruko would be asleep for at least a day and panicked. "What day is today!"

"Uh, the day I get that junky necklace from the old hag," Naruko said.

"You're...healed?" Shizune asked, not believing that it had only been a few hours.

"I'm a bijū! I'm shocked I can even get hurt or worn out!" Naruko cheered. "By the way, where's that old hag? I need to show her that the mastered jutsu...just as soon as I master it. Just a little more and I'll have it!"

Shizune threw open the window. "Stay here while I go to Tsunade-sama!" Shizune warned as she moved forward.

CLONK!

Shizune fell back into the room, holding her head. "OW!" she grunted, "feels like I hit a wall..."

"Sorry my head is so hard!" Jiraiya shouted as he peeked around the edge of the window. He then winced and gripped his head again.

A few minutes later, Naruko's opinion of the man had fallen further. "She drugged you? What makes you a Sannin again?"

"Shut it you tailless fox brat," Jiraiya growled, "but damn, this one is good. Can't mold chakra properly or even move right. Feels like I'm a civilian or something." He looked to Shizune. "Got an antidote I can use or something?"

Shizune shook her head. "If you couldn't detect it, then it's far beyond my skills."

"What the hell is the deal with Tsunade and Orochimaru anyway? I think we need to know," Jiraiya said as he stared at the woman.

"We don't have time, I'll tell you on the way!" Shizune said. She called on Tsunade's pig, Tonton, and the three ninja plus pig made their way to the meeting spot.

_[Fifteen minutes later]_

Just as Kabuto was about to spill her blood all over, three ninja appeared before her in an overly dramatic cloud of expended chakra.

"Jiraiya, not so good to see you," Orochimaru greeted in his own fashion.

"I could have done without seeing those insane eyes," Jiraiya shot back.

"Kabuto?" Naruko gasped when she saw Tsunade's opponent. She quickly noticed his forehead protector, now adorned with the musical note of Oto. "So you're a traitor!"

"Wrong Naruko-kun, I was never once loyal to Konoha," Kabuto stated.

"Move aside!" Tsunade shouted as she knocked Jiraiya over, only to stop when Kabuto cut himself, splashing blood all over the woman.

"Finally back to normal," Kabuto mused, then socked Tsunade in the face. He then smirked as he stared down at his favorite toy. "Naruko-kun, you are not suited to being a shinobi. Sasuke-kun, your 'rival' is far more suited to being both a shinobi and Hokage."

"What?" Naruko growled as she barred her teeth.

"Scary look, but it isn't enough. Without that monster inside of you, you'd be nothing more than a mediocre ninja, at best. Even with the Kyūbi inside you, the Sannin far outstrip you in every category. The only interest I have in you right now is the pained face you will make when you realize your own weakness," Kabuto stated with a calm voice that dripped of malice. "Let me give you a fair warning: I'm serious right now, so you even moving might make me kill you."

Naruko's better judgment was somewhere else at the moment, so she tore forward with her fist held back. Kabuto merely drove a kick into her shoulder to spin her, then kicked her in the small of her back to send her away. Shizune, having attended to her master, went over to Naruko in the guise of healing her, but spat poisoned needles at Kabuto's face. Even at a disadvantage, he still managed to deflect them with his forehead protector. He then retreated to Orochimaru's side and stopped his bleeding wound.

"Shizune, take care of the nerd while I behead the snake," Jiraiya ordered, "while I'm here, can you get Tsunade to do something about this drug?"

Shizune looked back at her unresponsive mentor. "She's in no state to do anything right now."

"Guess both me or Orochimaru are going to start our retirement home battle early. Naruko, protect the princess and her pig," Jiraiya said.

"I can fight," Naruko growled back.

"You heard the bookworm, you're unable to fight anyone here. Face it, this battle is way over your head," Jiraiya said, "trust me, protecting Tsunade is the most important thing right now, so you are doing what's right."

Naruko grumbled, hating how right Jiraiya was.

The battle between the Toad and Snake would have been epic, had Jiraiya not summoned Gamakichi instead of Gamabunta.

Naruko decided to back up Jiraiya by trying her hand at summoning the great toad, but she produced nothing, not even a cloud of chakra. As she wondered what was going on, a stinging pain bit into her neck. She reached back and felt warm, wet liquid. She brought her hand to her face and saw blood.

Jiraiya had seen the girl's failed summoning and was now worried. Since Naruko had, for lack of a better term, forced the curse seal into a type of dormancy, no external seal had been put over it. If the seal was somehow strengthening due to being so close to Orochimaru, Naruko might run the risk of being consumed by the seal or even killed by it.

The group looked up and moved in time to avoid Orochimaru's two headed snake's attack. Naruko lost sight of Jiraiya and was shocked when a swamp started to suck up the snake. Sadly, the snake managed to catch Naruko in one of its mouths. She got free and landed on the ground, only for the snake to briefly land on her. It lifted itself off, leaving Naruko's injured form on the ground.

When Naruko came to a few moments later, she saw that Kabuto was trying to get at a frightened Tsunade. In spite of her injuries, Naruko got to her feet and took the blow meant for Tsunade to her forehead.

"That's twice someone had bloodied my forehead," Naruko growled, "now I'm going to break you!" She started to form the rasengan, one that was almost perfectly focused. The crimson ball went forward, but Kabuto dodged it and struck the girl's leg, cutting the bone with his scalpels.

"Even with such a jutsu, you can't defeat me. Don't even think of moving again, you'll just crack the bone," Kabuto warned.

"You..." Naruko groaned.

Kabuto pulled out one of his infernal ninja cards. "Naruko-kun, while you lack the talent, your personality and spirit are more than suited to being a Hokage. Interestingly enough, this is the one of only two categories in which you excel while Sasuke-kun miserably fails. Sadly, running now would rob you of your chances at becoming Hokage, staying will end your life. Either way, this is the end."

"I choose to kick you ass," Naruko stated as she forced herself onto both feet. Her leg was hurting like no tomorrow.

Kabuto smacked the girl away, making sure to hit her heart so the Kyūbi couldn't heal the wounds he had already dealt to the girl. If she tried anything about a C-rank jutsu, it would be the end of her.

Once more, Naruko got to her feet. "Hey, give me that stupid murdering necklace of yours when I beat this four eyes. **Kage Bunshin no jutsu!**" A second Naruko appeared next to the original, setting off Kabuto's trap.

"How unfortunate, now I'll have to kill you!" Kabuto shouted a little too gleefully as he pulled out a kunai. He did enjoy killing.

Tsunade kept yelling at Naruko, but she ignored it until she heard a certain set of words.

"Naruko! I'm sorry about what I said! You're not a monster!"

Naruko swung her hand down, impaling it on Kabuto's kunai. "Let's see you run from this, the future Hokage's newest jutsu," Naruko boasted as the clone started to help her form the jutsu, making a perfect.

"**RASENGAN!"** Naruko roared as she pushed the red ball of chakra forward.

Even if it was perfect, Naruko forgot two things about Kabuto. One, he was older and far more experienced. Two, he wasn't being held down at all.

Kabuto released his weapon and slid around the ball of chakra. He did not want to get hit by that attack. With half of her support gone and the damaged bone in her leg snapping, Naruko's rasengan hit the ground and tore a large, spiral shaped crater in the ground. Naruko was almost in the dead center of it. This blast had caught Kabuto and tossed him a little, but the damage he suffered was minimal.

"A direct contact jutsu, and a powerful one too. I doubt even my regenerative ability would have done much for such a blow," Kabuto admitted.

"Regenerative ability?" Tsunade shouted.

Kabuto smirked. "I didn't get to be Orochimaru-sama's assistant because of my medical skill, information gathering ability or my extensive knowledge of jutsu, it was my ability to heal from almost any injury I suffer."

Naruko stared at the ground, at her still punctured hand. Why was it that she always failed? Every single time this happened, she felt her chances of becoming Hokage slip further and further away. At this rate, she'd never become Hokage. In spite of what she had been warned about, Naruko felt rage burning inside of her. Rather than let it keep building and building, risking the release of the terrible power her title had been branded with, Naruko decided that fighting as a human was getting her nowhere. It was time to fight a human foe with inhuman power. She would use the rage as power to defeat Kabuto.

As the Kyūbi!

"I'd like to see you dodge my next jutsu," Naruko said in a low tone as she ripped the blade out of her hand.

That caught Kabuto's attention. "Oh! You have another jutsu? Whatever could it be?" he taunted.

Naruko grinned, showing off her canines. "I'm going to scream at you and send you flying."

Kabuto didn't know whether to laugh at the girl or let her 'attack' him and fail. He opted to let her try, foil her attack and then mentally break her. "Try your best, Naruko-kun." he challenged.

Naruko started to focus her chakra when she felt a familiar feeling. _'He's never going to stop feeling this,'_ Naruko thought as the chakra networks started to form. She didn't know what kind of damage her sonic roar could do to a person, but she was about to find out.

Orochimaru had taken an interest in the fight down below. What had caught his interest was the Yondaime's jutsu, one he wanted to copy using Sasuke's sharingan later. When he saw those strange chakra tails form, he became worried. His worry turned into abstract fear when the tips all gathered in front of the girl's open mouth, tiny sparks of white and black light gathering there.

_'It can't be!'_ he thought in shock as he remembered one briefing during his time with Akatsuki. He extended his tongue to wrap around Jiraiya's leg, throwing him into the ground, then launched himself at the ground near his pupil.

The ball of power Naruko unknowingly created shrunk down into a tiny speck of black light that went down her throat. _'Ack! What did I just swallow, a fly? I'm a kitsune, not a toad. Better cough it out or something,'_ Naruko thought. After the fly buzzed away, she'd send Kabuto flying!

"**Kuchiyose: Rashōmon!"** Orochimaru shouted.

Everyone's hearing was filled with the sound of a dull, thunderous explosion. A moment after the first blast, the sound of metal taking a very heavy blow hit their ringing ears, quickly followed by the sound of metal snapping apart. To make matters worse, a massive cloud of smoke filled the area, part of it going much further than the main cloud.

Jiraiya pried himself out of the ground and saw the cloud. He quickly made his way over and into the smoke. "Tsunade! Naruko! Shizune!" he shouted.

The cloud started to clear and he found Tsunade leaning over barely conscious Naruko, who was leaking bloody red chakra from her body.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Tsunade was so shocked that she told the truth. "I don't know, I found her like this!"

"Damn you, Kyūbi brat!"

The two turned to see a strange, demonic gate that was leaning very badly to one side, one of the doors nearly ripped off its hinges and badly warped. On the other side of said gate, near a pulverized boulder was Orochimaru and his rather battered partner.

"Wh-what was that? It's not on her card..." Kabuto croaked around the blood pooling in his throat. Nothing more than a shock wave had hit him, but it was far stronger than he could have imagined a mistake ninja like Naruko producing. It would take a while to heal this without proper medical attention and his personally made medicines.

"That was a Bijūdama, the strongest technique a jinchūriki can use," Orochimaru said. What bothered him was that Naruko had used the technique without assuming the Kyūbi's form. Using a bijūdama without that form should be impossible. Summoning that gate had taken a considerable amount of his fading strength. But he wasn't the type to run away like this. He took some blood and smeared it on the seal.

"Time to get serious, eh?" Jiraiya smirked as he went through the seals.

Tsunade took some of the blood off the corner of her mouth from when Kabuto had punched her. "Today is the last day three Sannin stand."

Naruko was awake long enough to see a large slug, Gamabunta and a huge serpent appear. Each animal had a Sannin on its head. Then there was blackness.

_[Unknown amount of time later]_

"Ugh..." Naruko rolled over, trying to get rid of the sick feeling in her guts.

"Naruko-chan?"

The girl in question cracked open and eye and saw Shizune. "Yes?"

Shizune quickly left the room and came back with Jiraiya and Tsunade a few moments later.

"Naruko, glad to see that you're back with us," Tsunade said with a gentle, motherly-like smile on her face.

"Huh? How long was I out?" the kitsune asked. Couldn't have been that long.

"Two days," Jiraiya stated, then had a perverted grin plastered on his face, "you kept calling out to 'Sakura-chan' the whole time."

Tsunade drove a weak (by her standards) punch into Jiraiya's stomach, forcing the man to double over in pain. "She didn't do anything like that. Seriously, you were bawling like a baby at first and then you turn around and embarrass her the moment she wakes up. Grow up a little."

Naruko started to get up and realized that she didn't have her dress on. "Where's my clothing?"

Shizune coughed and looked away with a blush. "They kinda...burned away while you were healing..."

Naruko raised a rust colored eye brow. "Burned away?"

"I guess your body's healing chakra is too hot for normal clothes. They literally did burn when chakra was coming from your body to heal all those wounds Kabuto dealt to you," Tsunade explained. She even lifted up the charred outfit and weights, showing that she had a hole in the chest and the weights were partially melted. "Would have been bad if I didn't find those weights when I did.

Naruko got up and went over to her bag. She leaned over it to fish out another dress when something hit her chin. "Huh? What's this?" She stood up and looked in the mirror.

First thing that she noticed was that she was a little taller than before, noticeably taller. Her face was also a bit thinner, her body seemingly more matured. Her hair was also a bit longer and had a slightly more shaggy look to it. Her eyes were sharper, her pupils slightly slitted now. She opened her mouth and went to pull her lip away to see her teeth, but she noticed that her nail's end had taken on a rather sharp edge. When she did look at her teeth, her canines were more pronounced. Overall, she had grown more beautiful and feral all at once.

WHAT? There she went, going all girly on herself again! This seriously needed to stop!

"Like it?" Tsunade asked as she stood behind the girl.

Naruko flinched, then saw what had hit her chin. It was Tsunade's cursed necklace. "Why do I have it?"

Tsunade laughed. "Remember? You had to show me a completed Rasengan on the seventh day, which you did. You win." She put Naruko's wallets down before the girl.

Naruko looked down at the wallets, two animals that sort of defined her now. Toad and fox, an odd combination.

"You need to get dressed. Standing around in your underwear when an admitted pervert is around isn't the best way to start the day," Tsunade said as she shot a pointed look at Jiraiya, who had recovered in time to see Tsunade step up behind the girl and give him a new idea for his books.

"Right," Naruko said, then reached into her bag. "Ah. Maybe I should try this!"

It was one of the jumpsuits that Guy had given her.

"NO!" all three senior ninja shouted.

Naruko pouted. "Kyuu..." she cutely growled as she got a spare dress out.

That didn't escape the notice of the older ninja, nor did her rapid growth. Naruko was changing, though was it into the Kyūbi no Yōko or Orochimaru's next puppet. Only time would tell.

**A/N~**

**Wow, I got flamed good by someone last chapter and the chapter before. Considering how much of what they complained about was canon, I find the first one's complaints hilarious since they're probably all caught up on the manga and anxiously waiting for the next chapter. Oh well, if you decide to quit because one chapter doesn't agree with you or is sub par, have it your way. Some of my favorite manga and fanfics have chapters I think the story would be better off without, but that didn't stop me from reading.**

**Like I said before, this fic isn't wholly my own creation. It is a fic meant to exploit the potential (Naruko/Sakura/Ino) another story had, but wasn't fully utilized because of a girlfriend and her slapping the back of the writer's head. Of course, this fic is slowly becoming my own creation. I do agree that chapter 8 was lack luster. Hope this chapter made up for it.**

**Just like with KTD (I'm rewriting chapter 23 in case anyone was wondering) I'll throw in a crack pairing omake. It pokes fun at the whole 'Naruto turns into a girl and suddenly falls for Sasuke' BS people seem to love. It also pokes fun at the Uchiha Fan Club's general beliefs. Turn away if you can't stomach it long enough to get to the comedy. Writing these things, I noticed I have a talent for writing pairings I despise.**

**I'm using Oiroke Naruko for this one, since I don't want to dirty my version of Naruko.**

**Omake~**

**NarukoXSasuke!**

As if suddenly turning into a girl wasn't bad enough, why did Sasuke have to suddenly look so damn hot! For some reason, everything Sakura and Ino said made sense now. He was cool, strong, rich and handsome.

"Damn..." she groaned as she hid behind the tree while staring at the guy who suddenly wasn't a rival anymore. She did want him on the ground, but not from her beating him.

"I know you're back there Dobette," Sasuke said, "come out and we can spar, though we both know I'll win in the end."

She may, for some twisted reason, like him a bit now, but she didn't like challenges like that. "I'll kick your ass!"

The fight started off roughly even, then Sasuke turned around and quickly started to defeat Naruko's every tactic. He then turned around and tripped her to the ground.

Before Naruko could get up, Sasuke pinned her arms to the ground. "What do I get for winning?"

The pigtailed blond gulped. She didn't dare say what she wanted.

Sasuke smirked. "Not offering anything? Guess I'll just take what I want then."

Sasuke released one of Naruko's wrists and gently cupped her cheek, then leaned down to her lips.

_[Konoha Hospital]_

"Ugh..No! Stop!" Sasuke groaned as he started to weakly thrash around in his bed.

"What's the matter?" a nurse asked the attending physician.

"I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure he's having a traumatic nightmare," the man stated.

**Jutsu Index-**

**Bijūdama** [Tailed Beast Ball] – The pinnacle of a bijū's power. By combining the positive black chakra and the negative white chakra in an 8:2 ratio, a ball of highly destructive power is created. At this point, it can be fired as a round of power that detonates like a bomb or it can be swallowed to spit up as a beam of equally destructive, piercing chakra. Minato Namikaze based the Rasengan off this technique.

**Responses-**

**Sky Zephyrus:** I was aiming for red hot goddess, but hot terminatrix works too. Like I said before, Majesty State, or Majesty Mode as it will come to be called, is far too powerful for Part I.

Yeah, Naruko indirectly said Tenten got none, which I find to be true in canon. Just like Haku could easily be mistaken for a girl, Tenten can easily be mistaken for a boy. Confession; I thought that Team Guy was the first all male genin team at first.

I'll try for more omakes, but the space for them is getting smaller and smaller. Maybe I'll make them like the last few or something. The two in this fic were just for fun! Tiny ideas too small for a one-shot, but good enough as an omake.

**Irish Shift:** Here it is.

**harlequin320:** Glad you like it. Here's the new chapter.

**gaara king of the sand:** Naruko always has bijū chakra because she's a bijū. Thanks for pointing out that I've never explained what color her chakra was since the henge/seal release, though she never had anything other than her States to display it. As I pointed out in this chapter, the chakra is bright red now.

**ShadowCub:** You must remember four things about Naruto(ko).

1: He/she knows people can change.

2: He/she already bears an incredible burden. A heap of hatred is nothing.

3: He/she IS insane and stupid. (they have a talking fox and a Dark Side in them, isn't that insanity in itself?)

4: He/she is a masochist. (since he/she loves Sakura in spite of the beatings)

With this knowledge in mind, the mentality of our hero(ine) makes sense, in a twisted way. Well, my Naruko doesn't have a demon fox inside her because she is the demon fox, but it still applies to her.

While I do say all this, that mentality does bother me too. This issue will be thrown in Naruto's face in Part 2 of KTD.

**SonicFan12:** Seems like she got it the other way around.

**SuperNeos2:** You forgot about the Tailed Beast Ball.

**DarkLordK:** ...Pervert...

**Wirdo:** Naruko didn't fully understand what a bijū was. She didn't know how her and Shukaku were related other than by a word. She also wondered why Akatsuki would want demons when they are supposedly the most powerful criminal organization in the world. Once more, Naruko is stupid and slept through various classes that would have better prepared her for the world.

**samwaffleman:** Thanks, here's the next chapter.

**xXxwhitewolf14xXx:** Here's the update. Sorry for not posting another chapter of KTD. I have to rewrite most of chapter 13 since it blows chunks. It was weak and boring. I want a clash of chidori and some other cool stuff in the fight. Before, it was just a knock down, drag out fight. I've done that once already and I figure people want to see Yue exhaust some of her waning power on Sasuke rather than just beat the snot out of him. As soon as I'm done it, I'll post it. Just got to do a few pages more.

**Arina:** I've never watched the anime and I do write with the manga as a reference. I'll admit that the last two chapters weren't that good, but I don't see you doing any better. Like I keep pointing out, this fic wasn't something I created like KTD. This is a sort of RESPONSE to the untapped pairing potential in He Said, She Said by EroSlackerMicha. It will be rough around the edges, as has been pointed out a few times. AND, as I've pointed out several times, I write for me first! If you can't enjoy your own work of art, it is a piece of garbage that doesn't deserve the light of day. I was hesitant to release this fic since it was still being planned out and rough, but I was encouraged to release it and the results have been favorable for the most part.

"_Those who complain loudest have nothing to show themselves."_ That's something I came up with and it is true 90% of the time. You have no idea how many people I've completely embarrassed by calling them on their heckling. You want to put me in my place, make an account and make people abandon my stories for yours.

And sorry if I seem harsh, but I tend to respond in kind. Malice for malice, anger for anger, injury for injury. You heckled me, I heckled you. Let's leave it at that and move on. Next time, I'll silently accept your...dissatisfaction in silence. I trust that this chapter's end will suit your tastes for less canon. Next chapter will contain more.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Growing Rifts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Note: Prepare for deviations because most of this is written from memory! I also realize that I made a mistake a while ago. I forgot that Kakashi knows the rasengan as well, making him the third user of the jutsu while Naruko is the fourth. I'll fix it later. This chapter and the next will have Sakura bashers unite and ask me to tear the pinkette apart, but I won't.**

Naruko had chosen not to go to the hospital because she didn't really like them all that much. She also wanted to avoid people she knew for a while. The changes Naruko underwent during the mission made her feel uncomfortable. She never imagined that her body would be so...lithe. Even with the new heavier weights, Naruko felt fairly light. She decided to leave Sakura and Sasuke alone for a little while, maybe give the girl time alone with the boy she loved.

Thinking that made it feel like her heart was wrapped in razor wire. Rather than go to Ramen Ichiraku to drown her sorrows in ramen, she made her way to a barbeque place for some meat. She wasn't even in there for two minutes when she heard.

"Wow. Hard to believe such a lazy guy could look so cool with a chūnin flak jacket. Then again, the clothes do make the man."

"Seeing you in that is hilarious. Let's get him in a tux next time."

"...Shut up..."

"Enough making fun of him. Let's eat to his promotion!"

Naruko quickly hid herself behind the short wall the separated the eating area from the entry area. That was Team 10. While Shikamaru and Choji were her friends, Naruko and Ino didn't have a great past and the kitsune did not want to see if changing into a girl would soften the beating. That was when she noticed a few other people she knew placing orders.

_'Damn. I was hoping to get some food and get out before anyone who knew me walked over. Maybe I'll just walk around a little, avoid the crowds and all that,'_ Naruko thought as she trudged out of the shop, then took to the rooftops.

Sadly, people she knew normally frequented the roofs of Konoha.

"Naruko?"

She turned to see her academy sensei, Iruka. He saw how much she had changed and he smiled sympathetically. "C'mon. Ayame and Teuchi would never turn you away," he said as he gestured in the general direction of the shop.

After getting her there and proving that she wouldn't be rejected, Iruka ordered her four bowls and waited for her to speak. It took all four to loosen her lips. "Iruka-sensei...I heard that Shikamaru got promoted. Anyone else?"

Iruka shook his head. "Nope, just Shikamaru." He waited a few moments. "Did you hope to pass?"

Naruko shook her head. "I'd be surprised if I did. I just thought that Sasuke might have been promoted..."

Iruka raised an eye brow. "Sasuke was disqualified, so he wouldn't be considered at all. Why would you think he became a chūnin?"

"Because he went after Gaara right away while I stood there without lifting a finger," Naruko said.

Iruka sighed. "That was just him jumping in without a care. If I recall correctly, Sasuke was no match for Gaara and you were the one who defeated Gaara, saving both Sakura and him." He ruffled the girl's hair. "Have more confidence in yourself. Everyone's going on missions now to make up for our losses, even you, so get that usual determination of yours and do some good for Konoha."

Naruko shook her head a bit and then jumped up onto her stool. "You're right! I got my new jutsu, so I should go out there and rack up the missions so I can become a chūnin next time!"

"That's the Naruko I know, but please sit down and eat a few more bowls of ramen so you don't go falling on your face again," Iruka said with a wide grin.

"Sensei! I haven't done that in three years!" Naruko shouted. Iruka chuckled at her outburst.

_[Ten minutes later, Sasuke's room]_

Sasuke's mind was a boiling mix of anger and memories. Why did Itachi suddenly lose interest in his little brother and switch to Naruko. Why was Itachi after her? Why was it that Naruko was taking his place as the strongest, most reliable genin in team. It made no sense. He started off stronger, but now she was growing faster than he could imagine. Given enough time and Sasuke's slow growth, Naruko would quickly leave him behind.

"Sasuke-kun! I sliced these apples for you!" Sakura cheerfully announced as she held the tray in front of him.

Bang! Clatter!

Sasuke had slapped the food away and he glared at a wall with all the rage he could muster.

He. Hated. Weakness.

And now he felt weak...

Naruko chose this moment to slip into the room. She honestly hoped she could just peek in to see how Sasuke and Sakura were, but the Uchiha's eyes snapped to her and she felt nothing but rage and darkness from him.

"Sasuke?" Naruko muttered. Was this really her best friend?

Sakura turned and was shocked at the attractive redhead at the door. Her unique features told the pinkette that it was Naruko, but she had changed enough that one would double take to make sure it was her.

"What's with that..." Naruko didn't know what to say. How could she ask him about his 'darkness?' It didn't even make sense to her.

"Naruko, fight me. Now!" Sasuke demanded as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Wha-! But you're still not recove-" Naruko started.

"Stop making excuses and fight!" the Uchiha shouted as his sharingan spun at the girl. "I wasn't helped by you or that woman. I don't need some loser dragging me down. I'll prove to you once and for all that I'm the better ninja."

"No!" Naruko shouted, "I'm not going to fight you."

"See Sasuke-kun, she doesn't want to fight right now," Sakura tried.

"Shut up! I'm not talking to you!" Sasuke snapped.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Naruko shouted as she stepped between Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke smirked. "Oh? Grew a backbone hiding behind two Sannin? If you got the guts to step up, then fight me."

"I said no," Naruko growled.

"You don't have a choice!" Sasuke shouted as he took a swipe at the girl.

Naruko dodged and ran out of the room. To her shock, Sasuke started herding her towards an unseen goal.

"Sasuke-kun! Stop it!" Sakura shouted as she followed her much faster teammates.

After a few minutes, they were on the rooftop. Naruko might have been able to hop over the fence and down the wall, but Sasuke had his sharingan locked on her and she doubted she'd get near the fence without him blocking her.

Sakura made it to the roof and stared at her teammates. She was truly worried that something bad was about to happen.

"Sasuke, I don't want to fight you," Naruko stated.

"I want to fight you, that's all that matters. Or are you afraid of me?" Sasuke taunted.

Naruko grit her teeth. "I don't want to hurt you."

Sasuke laughed at her. "You? Hurt me? Hah! Never in a million years Dobette!"

"I'm serious Sasuke, I'm stronger and I've...changed," Naruko admitted. Even now, the curse seal dully throbbed on her neck. Jiraiya had warned her not to do any fighting until he had a chance to seal it away, just in case.

"It doesn't matter how strong you become or how much you change. You will always be weaker than me," Sasuke said.

Naruko sighed and turned her back on Sasuke. "I'm not fighting you. I'm going to find Ero-sennin, then I'm going to get a mission." Naruko heard the rushing steps from behind her and turned just in time to see a fist in her face.

Whack!

Naruko was turned again, facing away from Sasuke as she stared at the ground wide eyed. _'That was a full strength punch... He really wants to hurt me!'_

Naruko swung an easy to dodge kick at Sasuke's face, forcing him to jump back. Since she didn't want to fight, she decided to create a distraction so she could escape. **"Kage Bunshin no ju-** Guh!" Right when she went to create the clones, the seal started to burn her. She knew it wasn't bleeding, but she also knew that it wouldn't allow her to use any jutsu that would be useful.

Sasuke closed the gap again and kicked Naruko in the stomach, the drove another kick to her jaw, this one being the starting blow for Shishi Rendan. Naruko had leaned back at the right moment, making her fly too close to the ground for him to use the taijutsu maneuver. He watched as the girl crashed into the fence, then fell to the ground.

"What's the matter? Where's that strength you used on Gaara?" Sasuke demanded. When he got no answer, he went through the seals. **"Gōkakyū no jutsu!"** he shouted as he spat up the flames.

Naruko saw the katon coming and vanished in a blur of black and red. She appeared out of the flame's reach, but fell to her knee as the pain from the seal spread across most of her body. She knew by now that she was using some kind of jutsu to move like that, but she didn't know how. Whatever the jutsu was, the curse seal did not like it and she was paying for it.

Sasuke was surprised when Naruko appeared in a safe zone, but he covered it when he saw her fall down. She was weak, just like he always thought. He figured that putting her in more danger would trigger that power of hers and he'd have a real fight on his hands. He went through the seals, knowing that this jutsu would either start a great fight or end a pathetic one. **"Chidori!"** Sasuke yelled as lightning crackled off his hand, then rushed the girl.

"NO!" Sakura shouted as she ran in front of Naruko, using herself as a shield.

Naruko saw Sakura and realized that the girl she cared so much about was going to be hit by that deadly blade.

_'Sakura! Oh no, I can't stop myself!'_ Sasuke thought in a panic.

The blade tore flesh and blood splattered onto the floor.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight of Naruko standing before Sakura, holding his arm back even as the lightning blade tore the top of her shoulder. It wasn't to lessen the damage she had already suffered, it was to prevent the blade from reaching Sakura.

Naruko growled, then tossed Sasuke back a small distance away. "Don't you dare do that again!" Naruko ordered with all her might. It was then that Sasuke saw her eyes, slitted and filled with anger. Even as he watched, bloody red chakra leaked from the quickly closing wound on the girl's shoulder.

"Make her leave and then fight me," Sasuke demanded.

Naruko turned away from Sasuke. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

Sakura dumbly nodded, not even realizing that Naruko's blood had splashed onto her, even in her hair and face. She didn't know why, but she felt safe with Naruko protecting her. She knew that Naruko would never let anything by her as long as it meant Sakura was safe, but how did she know? Even though the top of Naruko's left shoulder was torn flesh, burnt muscle and a tiny bit of visible bone, Sakura knew it wouldn't stop her.

"I won't be ignored!" Sasuke shouted as he came at Naruko with another chidori in hand. Naruko focused chakra into her hand, then wondered what the hell she was doing. This wasn't a rasengan, so what was it? It almost felt like she was meant to throw it.

Kakashi appeared and threw the two away before they could clash. "Chill out!" he ordered as Sasuke slammed into the water tank, puncturing a large hole in it to unleash a strong spray of water.

Sasuke's smirk of victory faded the moment Naruko struck the other tank, tearing several long gashes in the metal as water soaked the area. The moment he saw that, he couldn't contain his anger if he tried.

"What's the matter with you?" Kakashi demanded from atop the tank Sasuke had damaged, "the chidori isn't meant to be used on allies. Using it against Naruko, were you trying to kill her?"

Sasuke grunted and hopped over the fence to leave. When he landed, he glared up at the tank, seeing that the gashes went straight through and even sliced the fence behind it. Just how strong could Naruko be?

Sakura was crying and Naruko decided to leave, thinking it was her fault. Had she not shown up, would Sasuke have just sat there and done nothing at all? Maybe he would have left Sakura behind to find Naruko. Either way, it looked like her fault...

Kakashi merely sighed as he watched the team go their separate ways. "Jiraiya-sama, where did Naruko learn such a technique? Did you teach it to her?"

"Are you kidding? All I taught her was summoning and the rasengan. I don't even know what she tried to use there," Jiraiya stated.

"The rasengan? If she had used that, she might have killed Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted, alarmed.

"Oh? And what would have happened if Sasuke, rather than scraping her shoulder, had pierced her heart? Are you saying he would be free of blame? Is it alright for Sasuke to kill a demon like Naruko?" Jiraiya demanded.

"Yes. I mean no. I..." Kakashi hung his head in shame.

Jiraiya huffed. "I'm sick and tired of people putting her down like that. If it wasn't for Sarutobi-sensei telling me that you were hand chosen by him to protect Naruko, I'd permanently take her away from you and Team 7."

Kakashi looked away. "I'm sorry. It's just that she's stronger now and she can only grow more and more powerful. I was worried that she might...think of using her power against humans."

Jiraiya kept himself in check. "So you're saying she's dangerous? If anyone's dangerous, it's that kid who tried to kill her just now. Twice!"

"No, I didn't mean that! I was talking about the curse seal!" Kakashi said in a rush, "I have full faith in Naruko. I don't think hurting anyone in Konoha has ever crossed her mind. It's that curse seal on her neck that I don't trust."

Jiraiya sighed. "I don't blame you. That thing and what it could do to her gives me nightmares every night I'm unfortunate enough to see it."

"Have you tried to seal it?" Kakashi asked.

"Not yet, but that's because it wasn't active until recently. I was thinking of the seal that Sasuke has," Jiraiya said.

Kakashi shook his head. "I think Sasuke is wearing down the seal a little bit each day. Naruko... No, the seal is perfect for her. She'd never want to use the curse seal, so it would last forever. Might even make the seal atrophy like Anko's did."

Jiraiya smiled. "That's what I like to see. The girl's self confidence is shot to hell and back already, the changes she underwent recently seemed to have pushed her to a limit of sorts." He then thought of how Sasuke had gone at Naruko. "What's the deal with those two?"

"Same thing you and Orochimaru had when you were genin," Kakashi stated.

"Bah. There wasn't anything between me and Orochimaru...Other than Tsunade..." Jiraiya grumbled.

Kakashi remembered when he had first seen them at a distance, Sakura between the two of them as Sasuke bore down on the girl. Would Team 7 wind up like the Sannin in the end? No, he'd make sure they didn't. "Jiraiya-sama... I want to try to fix this."

Jiraiya thought a bit. "Hmm. I'd go talk to Naruko, but I think she needs someone from Konoha that she hasn't had much contact with since her recent changes. If you go talk to her, maybe it will help get rid of some of her fear of rejection."

Kakashi raised his visible eye brow. "How do you see that happening?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Naruko told me all about your team's training. Poor gaki didn't even realize that you were trying to help her while making it look like you were focusing on Sasuke. Maybe it's time that you tell her that you want to truly be her sensei."

Kakashi looked away, a very slight blush visible under his mask. "Was it that obvious?"

Jiraiya hopped onto the top of the fence. "To everyone except Naruko. I'll go find the Uchiha and try and talk some sense into him. It's obvious that he ain't listening to you all that much if the seal is coming apart."

Kakashi nodded. "Please do. I'll go talk to Naruko. I have a mission soon, so I hope I have enough time."

The two men left the roof with twin bursts of smoke.

_[Training ground 3]_

Naruko was still trying to master using the rasengan one handed, like Jiraiya. She could do it, but the jutsu was slower than when she used a clone and it put more strain on her too. She didn't bother hitting anything with it, just tried to speed up the chakra manipulation while trying to find a way to reduce the strain.

Results so far: zilch and an aching arm.

Naruko dispelled the ball and sat down. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Hmm, I never thought I'd see someone so young using Minato-sensei's jutsu."

Naruko, from a sitting position, shot three feet into the air and collapsed in a panicked heap. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei!" the girl cried out as she tried to untangled herself.

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh as the kitsune struggled to hide herself, escape and straighten herself out all at once. "Let me help," he offered as he took hold of one leg and one arm and, with a gentle motion, got the girl back into a sitting position. "Better?"

Naruko nodded as she looked away.

Kakashi looked the girl over and saw that she had noticeably changed. She looked like she had aged an entire year or so since he last saw her. He noticed the still discolored mark on her shoulder where Sasuke's chidori had struck. It was a first for him, seeing a healing wound from the chidori. Normally one didn't heal after getting hit by his first original jutsu.

While he wanted to be a reliable sensei, he had to get her to loosen up a bit first. Time to take a page from Jiraiya-sama's book. His eye locked onto her chest and hips as he stated the truth. "Hmm, you really did grow up a bit."

Naruko stared at her sensei with a flat expression as she hugged herself. "Pervert."

Kakashi smiled. "Thank you. Now that you know I'll still be a chronically late pervert all the time, even if you've changed a bit, think we could talk a bit?"

Naruko drew her knees up to her chin and hugged them, something she hadn't done since she was six. She had lots of questions, but she was afraid to ask most of them. "Sensei... Do you think I can stay in Konoha?"

Kakashi wasn't surprised. He figured it would be somewhere along these lines. "Of course. Why would you think you weren't?"

"Because I'm changing, growing too fast. If this keeps happening, I'll look older than you in no time," Naruko said.

Kakashi, for some odd reason, felt like he should be sitting in a rocking chair, resting with his favorite book in hand. Was that how it felt to be old? "I'm not all that old you know. But I do know how you feel."

Naruko lifted her head and looked at Kakashi. "Really?"

Kakashi nodded as he sat down next to the girl. "My father failed a mission so he could protect his teammates and it led to him being scorned and, eventually, committing suicide. My mother died long before that, so I had to take care of myself and train on my own until I became a genin."

Naruko was shocked. It sounded eerily similar to her own life. "But you had friends, right?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Not at first, because I lived the rules of the shinobi. My teammates eventually were my very best friends. Did you know Yondaime-sama was my team's sensei?"

Naruko was stunned. "You were trained by the Yondaime?"

Kakashi nodded. "I don't say it to often because, out of all his students, I was the one who took his words to heart the slowest in spite of being a genius."

"What do you mean?" Naruko asked.

Kakashi got up and walked over the monument. "Come over here Naruko." The girl came over and Kakashi had her sit down facing the marker while he sat next to it. "See these names here? Uchiha Obito. And over here, Rin. They were my teammates in Minato-sensei's genin team. During the Second War, Rin was captured by Iwa-nin and I, as the team leader, decided to leave her to the enemy so we could complete out mission."

"Why would you abandon her?" Naruko asked.

Kakashi sighed. "It wasn't one of my best moments. Luckily, Obito refused and I had to follow him to keep him safe. He awoke his sharingan and we managed to get Rin back, but I suffered the loss of my left eye and we got caught in a cave-in while we were hiding from them. Obito had half of his body crushed. Seeing that he was as good as dead and his left sharingan was intact while my left eye was gone, Obito had Rin transplant the sharingan in place of my missing eye. Because of that, I was finally able to use the chidori."

Now Naruko was confused. "Wait, why couldn't you use the chidori before having a sharingan?"

"Because of the speed. No normal human eye can see well enough to aim at the speed the chidori requires. It requires a sharingan, which can pick up perfect detail no matter how fast the user is going. With it, I was no longer tripping over my own feet while using my first original technique. It cost me my best friend, but he isn't really gone as long as I have this eye," Kakashi explained.

Naruko looked at the marker and asked, "what happened to Rin?"

"MIA. She disappeared roughly sixteen years ago while on a mission. Many believe that she just didn't want to be a ninja anymore and dropped her forehead protector and became a civilian," Kakashi said.

"What do you think?" Naruko asked.

Kakashi looked at the marker, remembering the girl who once loved him. "I don't know what to think. If she's alive, I hope she is happy. If she's dead, I hope she's at peace with Sensei and Obito." He then chuckled. "You know, Sakura looks a lot like Rin did at her age."

Naruko was shocked. Someone could look like Sakura? That shouldn't be possible. "Really?"

Kakashi reached into his flak jacket and pulled out a simple chain with a small picture holder on it. On the side she could see a smiling black haired boy with goggles on. Kakashi turned it and an attractive brown haired girl with blue marks on her cheeks was shown. "Crazy, isn't it?"

Naruko was thinking just that. The girl did look like Sakura and the boy she had seen looked sort of like her before the henge was released.

Kakashi smiled and held it out to Naruko. "Take it."

Naruko took the chain, then looked at her sensei, confused. "Why give this to me?"

"Because I trust you. Besides, I think you need their help more than I do now," Kakashi said, "that and you are a lot like both of them. You care for your comrades, even if they sometimes treat you like a bother, just like Rin. You also fight with all your power to protect them, just like Obito. It took me losing both of them to gain both those traits. From the first moment I met Team 7, you already possessed the very traits I wanted to teach." He eye smiled. "That's probably why I accidentally focused on the others. You were so far ahead of them where it matters."

Naruko looked at the necklace once more, then put it on. The moment it touched her, she felt a strange warmth spread throughout her body, actually lessening the pain from the curse seal. After a moment, she put it under her dress.

"Well, I got a mission to do. I'll be back soon," Kakashi said as he got up, "when I get back, I'll help you with the rasengan and maybe teach you a few normal katon, if possible."

"Okay... Wait! You know about the rasengan!" Naruko shouted.

Kakashi nodded. "My sensei was the Yondaime, so yeah. I also had trouble stabilizing it at first, so maybe I can help a bit with a tip or two. If you get that down and a katon or two, maybe I'll teach you another one of his jutsu."

Naruko's eyes were practically glowing at the prospect of learning another of Namikaze Minato's jutsu. "Alright! I'll keep practicing! For all you know, I'll have figured something out before you get back!"

Kakashi smiled. "If anyone could figure it out on their own, it will be you." He left in a swirl of leaves.

Naruko stretched. Maybe she'd practice fighting a bit, get her mind off the rasengan for a while. Focusing on something else just might make her figure out how to work it properly, sort of like when she learned the jutsu.

_[Near the hospital]_

Sasuke stayed seated on the branch where the Sannin had left him. Jiraiya had revealed that he spent a good bit of his life trying to, for lack of a better term, get revenge on Orochimaru for all the atrocities he had committed. While Jiraiya was strong, he had nothing to really show for it. He had temporary lovers on occasion, but he had nobody he could call family, nobody he could come home and hug. In a sense, he was moving because of the past and had lost the chance to have something to look forward to: the present and a future.

Sasuke actually sat down and thought on what the man had said. While he would destroy Itachi, would it mean anything if he had no way to complete his other goal to revive the Uchiha? Would his revenge consume him and blind him from everything else? Could having allies truly allow Sasuke to defeat Itachi sooner? He had always pictured himself and Itachi fighting the final battle, but could Sakura, Kakashi and Naruko being with him make that battle come sooner?

He didn't know what to think anymore...

It was at this time that four ninja, all bearing the colors and insignia of Orochimaru's Sound Village, landed on the branches around him.

_[A few hours later]_

Sakura was scared when she saw Sasuke, outfitted for travel, walk up to the gate. She had hoped that she would waste an entire night waiting here and see nothing of her teammate.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I figured that if you were leaving, you'd go this way," Sakura said.

Sasuke started walking again. "This doesn't concern you, go back home and sleep."

"Why can't you just talk to me?" Sakura pleaded, "I'm always waiting, but you never-"

"I told you that it doesn't concern you," Sasuke said with a bit more force.

Sakura looked at the ground. "Remember when we were alone after becoming genin. You got angry at me because of all the things I said about Naruko."

"I don't care," Sasuke grunted, "those memories mean nothing to me."

Sakura hid her pain with a smile. "But they mean a lot to me. Team 7, all of us came together. We went on lots of mission, some fun, some scary. Even when I got hurt, even when I thought we might not make it, I enjoyed all of us being together." She decided to try getting through to him. "I know all about the Massacre, and your brother. Even if you did kill him, nobody will be any better, any happier for it."

"Do I look like I care about that?" Sasuke asked. "I'm not going to ever be like you two. We can't keep this foolish little act up anymore. I have to kill Itachi and that is the only reason I was allowed to live. Everyone has different paths in life, this is where everyone in Team 7 goes their separate ways."

"Sasuke! I've loved you ever since I knew what love was! I don't want you to go, so please, just stay here with me! If you do, we can get to Itachi and kill him, then revive your clan! I'll try my best to make staying here worth it. Please...just don't go..." Sakura cried.

"Naruko is growing stronger and stronger with a Sannin. I can't be like Jiraiya or learn how to heal like Tsunade, so I'll learn how to kill like Orochimaru does. All I need is power and he wants to give it to me," Sasuke stated as he took another step.

Sakura realized that Naruko was one of the main reasons Sasuke was leaving, or that's what she figured anyway. "If it's about Naruko, you don't have to compete with her. She will always be very strong, but you don't need to worry about her because she's different."

Sasuke stopped. "What do you mean by that?"

Sakura swallowed hard. Hopefully, nobody would hate her for this.

_[Early next morning]_

Early morning, nagging mother, mission, blonde female Hokage. Yep, Shikamaru's morning was just peachy.

Troublesome. Shouldn't have accepted the jacket, or tried so hard against that fan carrying blonde. Damn redhead forcing him to fight when he just wanted to forfeit. Women would be the death of him.

"Last night, Uchiha Sasuke abandoned Konoha for the Sound Village," Tsunade stated, getting straight to the point.

That woke Shikamaru up. "Why?"

Tsunade decided to stick with the truth. "Orochimaru convinced him to leave."

"Wait, why would he decide to listen to such a dangerous guy?" Shikamaru asked.

"There's a reason it is always a snake that tricks man. Orochimaru also did have a way of making people do what he wanted," Tsunade explained, "we don't have any time. I'm giving you a mission to complete, chūnin."

"So me and my team are to retrieve Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade nodded. "Not only do we have limited time, but Orochimaru is sure to send some of his best ninja to assist Sasuke in reaching the border."

Shikamaru remembered the Oto genin team, a group of very powerful pawns Orochimaru sent out as a mere speed bump for Sasuke. If some of his best were coming... "I request a full team of jōnin and chūnin to accompany me on this mission."

"That is beyond my ability right now," Tsunade admitted.

"What are you saying? This is a dangerous mission! Why can't I have a unit fit for the task at hand?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Every jōnin and chūnin, besides you, is out of the village on missions. While there are some jōnin and ANBU around, they can't be taken from their duties for various reasons," Tsunade explained, "gather as many strong genin as you can within thirty minutes. I know there are many who are of the chūnin level."

"Che. Now I'm going to get a taste of what running a team of genin is like," Shikamaru muttered, "whatever. Even if it's a troublesome mission, I'm not turning my back on a fellow ninja. I'll see what I can do." He went to leave, knowing of a few he could ask already.

"Wait a moment," Tsunade called after the boy.

Shikamaru turned with a sigh. "What is it?"

"Uzumaki Naruko is not to go on this mission," Tsunade stated.

"What?" Shikamaru gasped. She was close to the top of his list, right after Choji, Neji, Kiba, Shino... Okay, she was on the list.

Tsunade started to lie, a skill she honed from years of bad gambling. "She received an injury from Orochimaru's right hand man while trying to get me to become Hokage. Despite my skill, I have yet to fully heal it. She needs time to recover."

Shikamaru shook his head. "She's annoying, but strong. Her being there would make the mission a whole lot less troublesome..." He left, figuring he'd grab Choji then track down Kiba so he could send the Inuzuka to search for the others. At least the team would be quieter...

_[Two hours later, training ground 3]_

Naruko had been training, trying to get a one handed rasengan down. As expected, she still needed a clone to use the jutsu without strain. She could form it a bit faster with and without a clone, but the strain hadn't changed all that much.

"Guess I'll go into town for a walk. Maybe I'll see a cat or something that will give me another idea," Naruko muttered. Four minutes later, she was walking the streets, wondering why she felt so down. It was almost like the entire village was on edge.

"Did you hear?" a man asked.

"What?" A woman's voice.

Naruko, being a shinobi, quickly hid herself behind some crates within hearing range of the conversation. She knew that there were numerous people who had their finger on Konoha's pulse and one of them, the man, sounded like one of the more popular shopkeepers who often heard rumors and such that made him a reliable source. The guy who ran the bar would be better, but he had a condition that kept him in all day long. Something about the sun making him get a really bad rash and sores.

"I heard that one of our ninja abandoned the village last night," the shopkeeper whispered.

"No way!" the woman gasped.

"Quiet down!" the man hissed, "we aren't supposed to know unless it gets really bad. Normally, it's just a confused or scared ninja, so it gets resolved quickly."

After a few moments, the woman asked, "who was it?"

"I don't know," Naruko could swear the man shrugged or shook his head, "all I know is that it was a genin who knocked out one of his female teammates so he could run."

Naruko's eyes widened. Out of all the genin teams she knew of, only one had two girls and a single boy. She quickly made it to the roof and went towards the Hokage Tower at top speed.

Tsunade had been enjoying her paperwork duties (massive sarcasm there) when a window literally exploded and a ball of colors flew in.

"Dammit Anko! I told you to use open the windows!" Tsunade shouted.

BAM! "Why didn't you call me when Sasuke ran away!" Naruko shouted as her hands slammed into Tsunade's desk hard, "I want to be on the retrieval team!"

"The team was already chosen and left," Tsunade stated.

Naruko closed her hands into fists, her nails digging shallow trenches in the desk. "Why not let me go?"

Tsunade reached out and placed a hand on the curse seal. "This is why. It needs to be sealed or it could threaten your life. The only two who can seal it are Kakashi and Jiraiya, both being out on missions right now."

Naruko growled. "I won't use it and I won't let it stop me."

"It stopped you from summoning and, if Sakura was telling the truth, stopped you from using shadow clones. What could you do without your signature jutsu and summoning? While it's true that you might be able to use a rasengan, you can't use it properly without a shadow clone," Tsunade explained.

Naruko turned away from the woman and went over to an open window. "I'm stronger than this stupid curse seal. I'll prove it by bringing Sasuke back."

"Naruko!" Tsunade shouted, but the girl had already jumped out the window, "damn. Now I need to pull someone to find and restrain Naruko." She quickly pulled out the roster and started looking through a list of jōnin. To make matters worse, she had to go talk to Lee soon. Hopefully Naruko wouldn't get any leads to go chasing Sasuke.

_[Training Grounds]_

Naruko heard that Neji was one of the ninja on the retrieval team, so that meant that Tenten or Lee might have an idea of where the team was headed. Since Lee was in the hospital, that left Tenten.

Just as she found the girl, a kunai hit the tree above her head. "I come in peace!" Naruko shouted as her arms shot up.

Tenten sheathed the other kunai she had readied. "You're...Uzumaki Naruko-san?"

"Just Naruko. I was wondering if you knew which way the retrieval team went?" Naruko asked.

Tenten looked confused. "Why do you need to know that?"

"Me and a few genin are going with a team of medics, just in case anything went wrong. I know the retrieval team headed towards Oto, I just don't know the route," Naruko lied.

Tenten told her of how the team was headed directly towards the Valley of the End, the very valley that Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara's powers created during their legendary battle. "Hey listen, take care of yourself and make sure Neji is alright," Tenten said.

"I will!" Naruko cheered, then bolted in the direction of the gates. They had been left open because of the ninja coming and going so frequently.

"Naruko, stop!"

The kitsune obeyed the order, actually stopping so suddenly that she fell flat on her face.

Footsteps rushed over and Naruko felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. "Naruko! Are you okay?"

Naruko levered herself up, recognizing the voice. "I'm fine, Sakura-chan."

Sakura had this sad look on her face as she stared at her teammate. "Naruko... It's Sasuke-kun. He left the village..."

Naruko looked down a bit. "I know and I'm going to bring him back."

"But a team already went out for him. Please, just don't go out there," Sakura pleaded.

"Sakura-chan, what's the matter?" Naruko asked.

Sakura looked nervous. "I-I don't know. It just feels like I'll lose everything if you leave the village now."

As much as Naruko loved hearing that, she knew that 'everything' was Sasuke. Did everyone think she'd go crazy because of the curse seal? "Sakura-chan, I promise you that I'll get Sasuke back for you. Just wait and see, you won't lose anything today," Naruko said, "I will bring him back, even if it takes all my life to do it."

Sakura was stunned. Naruko had just sworn herself into a form of servitude. It wasn't a promise that she just made, she gave up her entire life with one breath. "Naruko, please don-"

"I'll be back before you know it!" Naruko announced, then rushed out the gates.

For Sakura, her sense of relief battled with her sense of dread. Every step Naruko took felt like the world was coming apart a piece at a time.

_[Forest]_

Naruko had found Shizune's squad a while back and, learning of the four shinobi Orochimaru sent, Naruko forced herself to create a number of shadow clones, one of which ran back to the village to have teams of medics sent out. Even now, a while later, the curse seal still throbbed.

"I'm stronger than this stupid mark," Naruko growled to herself. She had been saying this every once in a while and it seemed to work too. She had come across a few people she knew, leaving clones behind to cover them, make sure nobody attacked them or move the injured if things started going bad. Sadly, she was now out of clones and there was still Shikamaru and Kiba left over. She doubted she'd be able to make another clone without passing out.

All of a sudden, a breeze brought the most wonderful scents to Naruko's nose. It wasn't ramen, which made her salivate, but it was something that got her blood rushing. She knew what one of the smells was, but the others eluded her. She increased her speed, drawn by the scent of blood and battle.

For the first time, the Empress was on the hunt.

Temari swung her fan, intending to blow away the sound of Tayuya's genjutsu and slice the flute.

She did all that and smack a flying demonic redhead into the demonic looking one.

"WHY!" Naruko wailed as she got picked up and chucked into Tayuya. Her head hit Tayuya's stomach, knocking the older girl off her branch. The kitsune picked herself up and glared at her attacker. "What was that for!"

"S-sorry?" Temari half said, half asked. It was just so random that the girl had appeared at that exact moment.

"It's okay, but where did that girl go?" Naruko asked as she started scanning around.

Temari turned to Shikamaru. "Give me a brief analysis of that girl's fighting style and the current situation."

Naruko ignored Shikamaru the moment he opened his mouth because he started going on and on about genjutsu, explaining the concept of that class of shinobi arts like Temari was a fresh academy student. Naruko could see the mild annoyance on the girl's face, but finding that-

"What's that smell?" Naruko suddenly asked. She sniffed a few more times, hating the nasty scent that seemed to bite into her nose. It sort of smelled like Orochimaru, but it was a little different too. The problem with smelling it was that she could smell a bit on Shikamaru and that kept interfering with her tracking the main source of the smell.

"What's up with her?" Temari asked as she bit her thumb, figuring a good clear cutting of the nearby area would be best.

"She's Naruko," Shikamaru said, thinking that would explain everything.

It hit Naruko like no tomorrow. A sonic roar! If she used that, not only would it block any of the sound genjutsu crap the enemy used, it would also blow her away. Naruko took another sniff of the air and, as luck would have it, the wind picked up from the south and the scent intensified.

"Over there!" Naruko shouted excitedly as she turned to the south and took a deep breath. She didn't know if this would go where she wanted or just blast all over the place, but she figured it was two birds with one stone.

_'Alright. I think I can get them with my genjutsu now,'_ Tayuya thought as she brought her slightly damaged flute to her lips. Just as she went to play a few notes, something powerful and loud slammed into her, tossing her through another tree and depositing her unconscious body on the forest floor, after making it skip for a few yards.

Temari whined in pain as her ears rung from the sound. Shikamaru was wincing as he held his right ear, swearing it was about to bleed. They looked down at Naruko, whose...shriek had torn the branch apart and dropped her to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Temari shouted, though is sounded muffled to her and Shikamaru.

The lazy genius wanted to shrug or something, but he figured that would hurt too much. "I know as much as you do!"

"What are you two shouting for!" Naruko boomed.

The other two ninja winced as their heads and ears throbbed. "Sasuke was taken by some freaky guy! He went that way!" Shikamaru shouted as he pointed towards the Valley of the End.

"Thanks! Are you guys okay?" Naruko asked, still as loud as ever.

"We'll be better if you and that loud voice go away!" Temari practically screamed.

Naruko huffed and took off. She had to get to Sasuke and bring him back to Konoha, for Sakura and their team.

The wind kunoichi and shadow user waited for their hearing to return to normal before they went to the ground. They had to check to see if they had a prisoner or a corpse. A prisoner would be almost as useful as a corpse, since the medics could determine where the girl had eaten by studying her remains. Shikamaru stopped as Temari continued on to the Oto kunoichi.

The blonde kicked the redhead, getting a weak gasp of pain. "She's alive!" Temari called back, "redhead did a number on her though. I think just waking her up would be torture enough." It was true. By the looks of it, very few bones in the musician ninja were free of breaks and those bones were probably fractured instead.

"We got bigger problems," Shikamaru said from his spot.

Temari came over and saw some blood. "Where did that come from?"

Shikamaru looked the girl in the eye. "This is where Naruko landed after using that power. She's bleeding from somewhere."

"Oh, so that wasn't a tattoo," Temari mused aloud.

"What did you think was a tattoo?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari pointed to her neck, near the spine on her left side. "There was a lot of red, well I now know it was blood. What happened to her, some sort of injury?"

Shikamaru remained silent, remembering Tsunade's explanation as to why Naruko couldn't participate in the mission. Could that bleeding have something to do with it? "This is too troublesome. Let's bind this girl and go back to find my teammates. I'm worried."

Temari smiled. "Don't worry so much, my brothers are also here."

"Now I'm really worried," Shikamaru said with a mental smirk.

"Hey! They aren't that... They aren't as weird as Naruko or that mask wearing perv she calls a sensei!" Temari shouted.

Shikamaru pouted slightly. "I'll give you that."

"Of course you have to give it to me, since I'm right," Temari said as she puffed out her chest a bit in pride.

Shikamaru sighed. _'Damn, dad's not the only Nara man who is whipped to next Sunday. Memo to self: avoid this troublesome blonde in the future.'_

_[Near the Valley]_

Naruko was minding her own business when she, quite literally, ran into something almost as hard as her head. "What the hell!" she whined as she looked at the strange tree before her. It wasn't a tree, it was a gigantic bone. "Why does this always happen to me?" she growled as she made her way through this bone forest, completely oblivious to the battle that was ending nearby.

After she made it through the field of bones, Naruko ran at the nearest tree to move faster.

After fifteen minutes of travel, she finally reached a valley with a waterfall, a river and statues of two ancient shinobi: Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, the men who forged this battle using her ancestor, Kurama.

That was when Naruko noticed the figure on the Madara statue's head. Naruko jumped onto the shoulder of the Hashirama statue.

"Sasuke!" Naruko shouted, "why are you going to Orochimaru?"

Sasuke turned around, the curse seal altering roughly half his face. "Finally caught up to me, Kyūbi?"

Naruko's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't told Sasuke what she was, so how did he know?

**A/N~**

Sorry for the extended absence (and not being dead, I know the haters were hoping for that) but my computer caught a wicked virus and, after successfully removing it, my computer wouldn't connect to the internet. I fixed it and I'm now back. Nothing like a good old system file transplant from my other computer.

Another reason for the delay is me feeling guilty over blowing up last chapter when it came to Arina's review. I always feel some guilt after doing stuff like that. It's funny since I'm fairly cold blooded, even tempered and mildly sadistic. (I find it enjoyable to see people get flustered)

Finally, this chapter was difficult for me for only one reason: I didn't read the reviews until I finished the chapter. I normally read them as I write, adding the responses to the end or, on rare occasions, adding something from a review, like I did last chapter with Naruko's chakra coloring.

**Omakes~**

**Evolution of a dream.**

Naruto, age 8: "Ninja! Hokage!"

Naruto, age 11: "First genin, then Hokage!"

Naruko, age 13 (Post Wave): "I'm going to be the first female Hokage!"

Naruko, age 13 (After finding Tsunade): _'Okay, the first female Hokage is going to be that old hag. But I'll be the first demon to become Hokage.'_

Naruko, age 13 (after getting beat by Tsunade): "Kami! She's no human, she's more of a demon than I am! Still, I'll be the first redheaded Hokage."

**Gender won't change me!**

Naruko peeked over at Jiraiya. They had been looking for Jiraiya's interview girl for two days now and Naruko, knowing that the man was a master of perversion and women, had a question to ask.

Just to make his tongue looser, Naruko opted for being respectable. "Jiraiya, I have a question..."

The man turned to her, a stunned expression on his face. "What did you say? Er, what's the question?" He had read enough about girls like Naruko to know she'd try and pass off what she said as something else. That's why Jiraiya threw in the second question.

Naruko blushed and looked to the side. "Um, how do girls..." She stopped as the blush intensified, trying to rival her hair color.

Jiraiya knew what she meant, or at least he thought he did. "Well Naruko, even I don't fully understand the mind of a woman. I can tell you..." he went into a long winded speech about how he, through observation, thought a woman's mind and heart worked.

Naruko sweat dropped as the man droned on and on. _'I just wanted to know how girls kiss each other and do... that. I need to know what to do to make Sakura-chan happy, so I figured this old perv would know. Damn! Why couldn't I just ask how girls showed each other love.'_

Jiraiya, who was trying to educate a young woman far more mysterious than the women he knew, kept going on about things she didn't give a damn about.

**Here's an idea-**

This is a first from me. I recently had an idea while reading one of the many NaruHarem stories (Icha Icha Engagements) and I'd like to see if anyone else would like to use it as well.

In every harem story for Naruto, he is either all for it, kind of shrugs his shoulders and rolls with it or is more or less oblivious to the girls trying to get him until enough pile up. I decided to make a story where Naruto does NOT want the harem, even going so far as outright rejecting any girl offering to marry him. Since it's brand new, I only have a bare bones idea of where it might go. All I really got is a list of girls I'm putting into the harem, Naruto not wanting to have anything to do with the harem and the first bit written up, where Naruto is told that he is to have children, even if he has to take multiple wives.

Here's what I'd like to see in the fic, if you decide to use this idea. You don't have to follow all of them, I'd just love to see these in the fic.

-Post Fourth Shinobi World War

-Sasuke's still on the loose and pure evil (you can redeem him if you want)

-Naruto killed both Madara and Tobi

-Naruto doesn't want the harem

-Naruto wants to bring Sasuke back to Konoha

-NaruSakuIno (any other girls are okay, just don't overload him with too many girls)

-Sasuke gets nobody (if he lives or appears)

-No CRA (or at least explain it so it doesn't sound like total BS. Make it an old law or something)

-No tailed beasts as lovers

-No putting Tsunade or Kurenai in the harem (Anko and Yūgao are okay since they are young, single and have no kids)

-You can bring characters back to life or have it so they never died (Tayuya, Konan, Yugito. They are fan favorites)

-Anime/movies only characters are okay (Shizuka, Isaribi, Hokuto, Guren, Shion, etc)

-NO YAOI! (For the love of all that is holy and all that is unholy, no yaoi!)

For those who are wondering, the girls that I've decided on for the harem so far are: Sakura, Ino, Isaribi and Shizuka. I might add one or two more, probably Anko, Ayame or Yūgao. Naruto needs at least one older woman. I'm leaning towards Yūgao because she needs some attention and the purple haired beauty needs a rebound.

I don't know about adding Hinata since so many writers have ruined readers when it comes to her 'taking over the harem.' Personally, I think she's too meek to do that. Not to be sexist or anything, but she strikes me as the 'shy, blushing wife type.' The perfect betrayals of Hinata in a harem I've seen so far are in Icha Icha Engagements and True Love Fixes All Broken Hearts. That's the type of Hinata I'd put into a harem, you know she's there but she's too shy to step up too much.

Enjoy it if you do decide to use it.

**Responses-**

**SonicFan12:** Actually, she didn't fully master the rasengan. Full mastery of the rasengan is to mix the jutsu with your elemental nature. Naruko hasn't done that yet, so the jutsu is half mastered. Of course, Naruko thinks that she puked and passed out, so I guess she hasn't mastered either one yet.

**DarkKiller9:** Thanks for the praise. Most people complain about my sticking to canon despite changing some things around a bit. Most of part I was necessary (the NarutoXSasuke kiss wasn't needed and was just plain wrong) so I keep it mostly to the core. Part II is where I like to play and have fun. So much can change there because the story expands tremendously.

And her growth was actually due to a high grade release of her powers (Tailed Beast Ball) and not the curse seal. Right now, it isn't helping her anymore. As Orochimaru theorized, the seal is reactivating and returning to what it is supposed to do, but Naruko's Kyūbi powers are fighting it and hurting her now. That's why the seal bleeds.

**gaara king of sand:** Thanks.

**Sky Zephyrus:** I remember reading that Naruto's four tailed Bijūdama was able to severely damage Orochimaru's Triple Rashōmon, I figured and full powered Kyūbi (with both halves of her chakra and no tails) would be able to almost completely demolish one of them. And I only gave that nightmare to Sasuke because I like screwing with his mind. (Goes to give him more)

**DarkLordK:** You know, I completely forgot that mini joke I threw in about Jiraiya. Thanks for reminding me of it. I also like to poke fun at the 'Great Super Pervert Jiraiya-sama!'

**Irish Shift:** Hehehehe. I just got an evil idea for later. Oh Itachi! I need to speak with you for a while!

**ShadowCub:** More perverted Naruko? I do believe that her practically eye raping women, Shizune included, counts as being pretty damn perverted. Jiraiya even praised her! When that man praises your perversion, you're an official pervert.

**SuperNeos2:** Sorry for ruining a few more years of your life, but I just wanted to pick on the teme a little more. I still haven't lost the image, mainly because I keep referring to it for my fics. I'm anti-yaoi, so I'm safe.

**ororo12:** I've always wondered why people don't put a capital at the beginning of their..whatever you want to call it since I know many aren't writers and made an account to keep track of their fav fics. Anyway, the idea originally came from another author's idea, though Naruto absorbed the Kyūbi and all her power, making Naruto turn into his Oiroke(Sexy) form permanently. The whole absorbing a demon thing is a little far fetched to me, so I don't use that idea. You know the rest since you're reading this fic.

**Raw666:** That's one of the pains of writing... quite a few fics at once. To make it simple, Orochimaru doesn't think Naruko is the Kyūbi because she is far too weak to be a bijū. Nobody would believe that a little girl who can barely defeat Gaara and Kabuto could be the mighty Kyūbi, strongest of all bijū. There just wasn't any evidence to support it. And Kabuto was never told about the Bijūdama because Orochimaru didn't think he'd run into a jinchūriki who could use it, since Sasuke was his target and all past Kyūbi jinchūriki never reached that level of mastery over the fox.

**EvilTenten:** An evil Tenten? Why does that sound so hot? I've got a sort of evil Tenten in one of my stories, so why am I shocked? According to Arina and two other people, who I've forgotten, this fic isn't that good. I'll keep going since, according to popular opinion, this fic is good. I honestly don't see it. This fic has its moments, but isn't up to what I consider 'a great fic' level yet.

**Analyn Rockwand & god of all:** Thanks for the praise, sort of. Like I said, this fic is just... yeah, I don't know how to describe it. It isn't up to par yet, probably might not get there either. I'll try my best, but I have very high expectations and this fic ain't meeting them.

**AsterBlake333:** Thanks and...wait for you? Huh? That's strange...

**xXxwhitewolf14xXx:** Why do I feel like a bunch of guys are just waiting for blonde to meet rust red? They want to see Ino lez all over Naruko. Heh. I can't wait either. Must restrain myself!

**ArinaSugarBaby:** Funny how you make it seem like I didn't expect a few reviews like yours. Truth be told, I expected a lot more flames. I actually expected a few people, who are extremely homophobic or major league bash masters that will not be named (SasukeRulesYouAll and Basher) to come here and troll me on every chapter, and I'm quite shocked that the reviews aren't a blazing inferno yet. I know I'm an amateur and view my work as being amateur no matter what anyone says, though you wouldn't since you obviously haven't read my profile. Let me repeat myself one more time: I expected far more hate than what I've gotten so far.

Now, what I said was that Tsunade's personality would be different. Tsunade viewed Naruto as the container of the Kyūbi in cannon. In this fic, she saw Naruko as a monster unworthy of anything, let alone recognition. And I do seem to recall Naruto being knocked back onto his back, not through a wooden structure or hit hard enough that he bled badly enough to require medical attention. Check it and see if I'm wrong.

Haa, I go on about saying how scratching back makes me feel bad and then I do it anyway. I really need to ditch this ugly streak in my personality. Of course, that's as easy as finding a fic I really liked.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: End of Team 7

Quick note: If there are any errors, I'll fix 'em later. I just want to get this out before people think I died at the keyboard!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

_[Orochimaru's lair]_

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto greeted as he entered the room.

"So Kimimaro went out to fetch Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru stated without looking at the still hurting medic.

Kabuto covered his surprise. "Yes, he did." He felt another matter had to be addressed. "Orochimaru-sama, what about Naruko-kun?"

Orochimaru hissed slightly. "What of her?"

"If she's sent after Sasuke-kun, she might actually take him back to Konoha because she's the Ky-" Kabuto said in a rush, knowing how his master would react.

"She can't be what everyone says she is! All bijū are incarnations of power and violence! That stupid, weak little girl is nothing like those legendary monsters!" Orochimaru shouted, "something went wrong with Naruto and he became a female jinchūriki without a seal to contain the Kyūbi, that is all!"

Kabuto flinched and backed away. Whenever someone mentioned Naruko lately, Orochimaru would react like this. The young man decided to leave the matter until later. He knew the girl wasn't human, he had felt her power through his own body. No human could possess that power and survive. Even a Jinchuriki would be destroyed.

_[Valley of the End]_

Sasuke smirked at his soon to be ex-teammate's expression. "Figures Konoha would send its pet Kyūbi to get me. I guess that proves that I'm more powerful than an average ninja."

Naruko broke out of her shock. "Ho-How did you find out?"

"Kukuku. Does it really matter? Maybe I should just kill you and do Konoha one last favor before I go," Sasuke said with an Orochimaru-like grin and chuckle, "maybe that's why you were sent here: to be killed by me, the last of the great Uchiha."

"They didn't send me, I came on my own," Naruko said, "they didn't even want me coming here."

Sasuke smirked. "Oh, so you disobeyed your masters. Tsk, tsk. Bad kitsune-chan."

Naruko growled. "I don't-"

"Shut up! Know your place and bow your head before me: one of the humans who owns you," Sasuke coldly ordered.

"I told Sakura-chan that I'd bring you back, but I didn't say anything about you being uninjured," Naruko said as she glared at her teammate, tears in the corners of her eyes, "I'll take you back over my shoulder!"

"Haha! Look at this! Crybaby Naruko-chan is back," Sasuke teased.

Naruko couldn't take it anymore and jumped across the gap, making it to Sasuke with a couple powerful jumps. Sasuke smirked and went to duck her blow, but Naruko pounced him and forced him onto the ground. "I'm not a crybaby! I'm Uzumaki Naruko, Sanban Kyūbi and future Hokage of Konohagakure! I came out here to take you back and that's what I'll do!" the girl shouted in the boy's face.

Sasuke spat at Naruko's face. "Even being this close to such a foolish pet disgusts me. Get off me, now!" When Naruko didn't listen, he grabbed her neck and forced his way up and onto his feet, holding the girl the whole while, forcing her to remain on her knees. "When I tell you to do something, YOU DO IT!" Sasuke shouted as he backhanded Naruko off the statue and into the river. He was elated at the power he had, but then the seal Kakashi had placed on his neck painfully forced the curse seal to recede. "I have to get rid of that stupid thing," Sasuke muttered.

Naruko clawed her way to the surface of the water with a pained doggy paddle. "Woof woof," the girl groaned as she crouched down on the water, "or is it 'kon kon' now? Yeah, that's the sound foxes make." She then glared up to where her teammate was.

Sasuke didn't like her eyes, so he jumped down and onto the water. "Looks like I need to beat you a bit more so you know to listen to humans without question." When he was close enough, he charged forward and drove a punch into her stomach, then kneed her in the face as she doubled over in pain, making her fall backward. He then dropped his foot onto the girl's chest, forcing her head under the water. "Submit or drown," Sasuke said as he increased the pressure.

Naruko struggled against the boy, but she felt weak from the seal on her neck. She managed to, with considerable effort, grab Sasuke's ankle and force him away long enough for her to bring her head out of the water and jump to the wall, hoping to get away from the river.

Sasuke wouldn't let her get away. He jumped after her, grabbed her by her hair and threw her across to the other side. He shot off the wall he was on and pinned Naruko to the wall, forcing his elbow into her throat to cut off her ability to breathe. "Stop struggling," he ordered, then smirked as a memory appeared in his mind. "I just though of something good: become my weapon and you can get the recognition you want. They will cry and beg for mercy from you, the Last Uchiha's Kyūbi. You will have the title of Hokage and even Sakura. I have no need for her, so you can have her," Sasuke offered as he let up slightly.

Naruko opened her hand and drove her sharp nails into Sasuke's side, right below the ribs. She drew blood, but they were just flesh wounds. It did the trick when Sasuke gave her enough freedom to pull the same hand back and drive a short punch to the same place. "N-No! I'll show them...that I'm not...a violent monster, "Naruko managed, then coughed as her windpipe fixed itself, "I'll protect them from anything and everything. They'll accept me for the good I can do, not the evil the name Kyūbi brings to mind!"

Sasuke kicked her, driving her into the wall again. "Face the bitter truth of this world! To Konoha, you and me are mere tools! I'm the Last Uchiha, their hope for the Uchiha's return! You are nothing more than the beast that tried to destroy them twice, a thing that is to be used until it becomes a threat! Just watch, when you grow to be too powerful, they'll seal you away just like all those before you!"

Naruko pried herself off the wall. "They won't do that to me."

Sasuke sighed. "I can't believe that you can't see the truth. Look at you, the mighty Kyūbi, getting slapped around by a genin! They made you weak, a mockery of your title! Even the one you love betrayed you without a thought. What were you thinking, telling her about your true nature?"

Naruko looked away from her teammate. "I didn't want to tell her or Ino, not yet anyway. I didn't even want to tell Ino..."

Sasuke blinked. "Ino? She knows? Well, it will only be a matter of time before all of Konoha knows what you are. Just think, even those who accepted you will turn their backs on you." He then held his hand out to the girl. "Come with me Naruko, help me destroy my brother. There is nothing left for you in Konoha. Actually, there never was anything for you there."

Naruko thought about everyone in Konoha, all her precious people. An image of Ino and Sakura appeared in her mind and she felt a darkness swallowing everything up, taking it all away from her. Then, for the oddest reason, all her worry was gone. "No, I won't abandon Konoha," Naruko firmly stated.

"Why not? Do you enjoy being used or something?" Sasuke asked.

Naruko got onto her feet and stared Sasuke down. "I don't think they'll betray or use me. Sakura-cha... Sakura was desperate to stop you and I don't know why, but I think Ino won't say anything. She's known about me being the Kyūbi since just after the preliminary rounds of the Chūnin Exams and she hasn't said a thing yet."

"Forget it, I'll let you go back and get betrayed, that way your fury will be greater," Sasuke said as he turned away and started climbing up the cliff.

"I'm not letting you go!" Naruko shouted as she jumped after him. She caught his shirt and tossed him into the water. Sasuke pulled himself up and rushed at the girl, delivering a series of blows to her head. Maybe, with enough shots to her head, the idiot would start to think straight.

Naruko managed to grab either side of Sasuke's head and slammed her forehead into his. "One advantage to being a bit taller," Naruko groaned as she wavered on her feet slightly. She shook her head and looked in time to dodge Sasuke's punch. She hooked his arm with hers and punched him in the ribs a few times.

Sasuke didn't like being at Naruko's mercy so he yanked her hair to break her lock on him, then he kicked her away. It was time to show her why an Uchiha was superior. Sasuke closed his eyes and opened them to see the world through his sharingan. With them active, he dodged two of Naruko's overpowered punches and put some distance between himself and her. "This is the limit Konoha put on you," Sasuke declared as he went through the seals, **"Chidori!"**

Naruko watched in horror as, for the second time in her life, that deadly blade came at her. It was aimed at her chest and she attempted to move aside, but Sasuke followed her movements. She couldn't dodge it.

Sasuke's chidori tore forward as the smell of burnt iron filled the air.

_[Konoha, same time]_

Sakura was sitting on the very same bench Sasuke had left her last night, sobbing. She felt like the lowest form of life on the planet. She had told Sasuke about Naruko's secret, betraying the rare total and complete trust the girl had placed in her. How could she face Naruko later? Forget that, how could she call herself anything other than a selfish bitch? Sakura had, for the longest time, ignored Naruko's crush and then she went and blabbed the girl's secret like Ino would.

Wait. Ino knew Naruko's secret too, but it wasn't all over the village already? Great, the one person who seemed to live to spread secrets around was better at keeping them than someone who was normally the last to know anything that couldn't be found in a text book.

Sakura's depression worsened as Ino herself rounded the corner, though Sakura was confused why the new Hokage and her assistant were with the blonde.

Ino noticed her friend/rival. "Hey Forehead! Where's Naruko?"

Sakura would normally start yelling at the girl, but she didn't feel like it at the moment. In fact, she didn't want to say anything at all right now except 'I'm sorry' to a certain girl.

Tsunade sighed. "She went after Sasuke in spite of me forbidding it."

"Really?" Ino asked, quite surprised. Naruko was the type who took Hokage stuff to heart, not the type who cast away orders and do what she wanted. Then again, Naruko was the #1 most unpredictable ninja in Konoha.

"Pig, what are you doing with Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked, wanting to divert the conversation away from her team.

Ino smiled, a terribly bright thing for Sakura's currently dark mood. "I asked Tsunade-sama if she'll take me on as an apprentice. I heard genjutsu types can become great medics, and I happen to be good at genjutsu, as well as everything else!" the blonde announced as she made sure to lean in such a way that Sakura could see that she had gone up a cup size since the academy. It was always fun to tease Sakura and anger snapped the pink haired girl out of whatever funk she managed to get herself into before, so it should work this time too.

Sakura wanted to snap at the girl, but she remembered Naruko's bad habit of getting injured, quite badly sometimes. Maybe, maybe if Sakura became a medic, she could heal some of Naruko's wounds as a form of apology! She knew that words would never be enough, but actions might. Even if Naruko's wounds healed on their own, Sakura could help them close faster if she were a medic. That and maybe she could remove poisons from the kitsune so they didn't bug her or slow her down. Why didn't Sakura think of this before?

Sakura practically threw herself onto the ground before Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama! Please make me your apprentice too!"

Tsunade wondered which would be harder; being Hokage or training two girls just entering puberty. Either way, she had sake to help ease her soon to be frazzled nerves. "Alright, but it's tough and I won't let you off too easily," the woman warned.

"I understand," Sakura said, determination in her voice. She'd be useful from now on, she wouldn't hold anyone back anymore. Even if she couldn't fight too well or wasn't all that strong, she could heal Naruko, Kakashi and Sasuke when they got hurt.

The pink haired girl looked towards the gate. _'Naruko, Sasuke-kun, please be alright,'_ she silently begged.

_[Valley of the End]_

Sasuke smirked in spite of probably destroying someone who could have been a powerful ally. He pulled his hand back, looking at the shallow hole he had torn into her chest. The bone was visible and it was slightly damaged from his chidori. If that wound didn't kill her, she would die from shock.

"If only you had joined me, not struggled for those bastards so hard, you would be able to live and be on your way to true power," Sasuke sadly muttered as he walked away from the girl.

Naruko fell to her knees, her heart beating erratically. The curse seal was also pulsing on her neck, letting her know that it was there. She felt extremely cold and numb. She knew that she could heal from this injury, but she didn't have the strength to get up again. She needed to bring him back for Sakura!

"M-more..."

Sasuke stopped and turned to look at the mortally wounded girl. "You couldn't possibly survive another hit, so you must want more power. Come with me, all the power in the world is waiting for you."

Naruko didn't know why, but she felt incredible power around her, power she could use to heal and capture Sasuke. She reached out to it, pulling on it. "I need more..._**power!"**_

Sasuke watched in awe as wisps of red light flowed from the valley and into Naruko. These wisps thickened more and more until she had numerous thick, surging rivers of pure evil power flowing into her body, not just her heart.

"It can't be... This valley was formed by Senju Hashirama's Mokuton and the Kyūbi! Could she be absorbing that power!?" Sasuke shouted in alarm. Could the chakra have lasted this long?

Naruko lifted herself to her feet, the foul power being swallowed into her body as the wound healed. Even though she had enough, the power kept coming, filling her completely. Now that she was fine, she needed to use the power to bring Sasuke back home.

Sasuke shielded his eyes as Naruko seemed to explode in a burst of black and red light. He heard the ground torn asunder and the water thrown against the cliff walls as he felt completely vile power wash over him, tainting him far more than Orochimaru's curse seal ever could. In that moment, the seal Kakashi had placed on his neck was obliterated by the release of evil energy radiating from Naruko, his curse seal of Heaven twisting into a new shape.

The light died down and Sasuke looked to where the girl was, expecting to see a charred skeleton or a mangled corpse.

Naruko was crouching on the ground, much like an Inuzuka. Dark red power was literally burning off of her, resembling gasoline fed flames. Her eyes caught his interest first, those lavender eyes that burned with incredible power. They actually were lit from within and gave her an almost sinister quality. She drug her razor sharp nails into the ground, digging small trenches with them as a bit of the ground ruptured from the force of her chakra. Her feet were bare, the sandals being destroyed or lost at some point. Since Sasuke hadn't been paying attention to her feet, he figured she had lost them somewhere during their fight. Her clothes also looked like she dove through a few explosions.

This was the moment Sasuke noticed the wreckage around her. Naruko's explosion had forced the ground to shatter and the intense heat or power of the blast had fused it in mid air, making it looked like curved spires had been summoned around the girl.

Naruko ground her nails into the dirt again and jumped up, appearing above Sasuke in a blaze of red. The boy quickly went through the seals and fired his trademark katon at her, but she spat her own powerful stream of fire into it, blasting it out of existence as well as throwing him across the ground with the pressure of it impacting the ground before him, tossing him like he was a simple rag doll. He got up in time to block her strike, but winced when red energy burst off of her claws and he was tossed back again.

"You...how did you get this strong!?" Sasuke shouted as he rolled onto his feet.

Naruko grunted as she trembled. A brief burst of red energy shot down her spine and her dress tore open at the back, the light twisting and seemingly forming into a red tail for the girl at the base of her spine. It was a mildly impressive, being able to reach a little passed Naruko's knees if she were standing and letting it hang down. When the light died down, he saw that it was a real tail and not a chakra construct.

"So you're powers awoke by fighting me," Sasuke deduced. He took his forehead protector out of his pocket.

Naruko flinched slightly and jumped back. She didn't know what he was planning.

Sasuke put his forehead protector on, fastening it tightly onto his head. "I'll give you what you always wanted: recognition. You are powerful, so I will treat you like we're equal," Sasuke said as both his sharingan fully matured, "come Naruko, see if you can defeat me now."

Naruko vaulted forward, using her arms and legs to give her speed and power. Sasuke strangled the urge to flinch and used his sharingan's ability to predict Naruko's movement and dodge her attack, barely. Her clawed finger nails scratched his cheek, drawing blood. She landed, turned back on her own slide and tried again. Sasuke was a bit faster this time and she missed completely. She went for another attack.

Sasuke was enjoying his newly augmented power. The speed he had with the curse seal was now his own and it cost him far less chakra. While it wasn't perfect against Naruko, it gave him just enough of an edge to dodge her devastating power. He saw an opening and put his fist in Naruko's way.

Naruko met his fist, taking it directly to her cheek. It wasn't until a moment later that Sasuke saw the error in his judgment, in the form of Naruko grabbing the very arm he had struck her with, then threw him away. He managed to land in seiza after a rough roll, but the pain from the girl's power made it hurt too much to move anymore. _'Just one strike and a throw...she beat me far more than anyone else. This is the power of the Bijū...'_

Naruko roared as she rushed forward, her fist held back. The area where punch impacted detonated, her augmented power tearing into the cliff wall and creating a miniature landslide as the cliff was destabilized, dust and red chakra mist spreading from the scene of destruction.

Their battle was reforming the valley a piece at a time, though the land only knew of the power Naruko was wielding. This time, it was an Uchiha that was being attacked by the Kyūbi no Yōko, who was defending Konoha through her actions, though she didn't know it. Their powers, while great, were nothing compared to the powers that had formed the valley they were changing.

Naruko had kicked off the crumbling wall to escape the landslide and wondered what had happened. Sasuke wasn't there when she struck.

"_**Back here,"**_ a strange, but familiar voice beckoned from behind the empress.

She turned to see Sasuke, but he was extremely different from before. His pale skin had become ashen and his black hair almost reached his waist at the back, almost covering his eyes in front. He had red cabalistic markings on his neck, biceps and a new set starting from the tips of his fingers to about halfway up his forearm. From his back came a pair of jet black wings with four short clawed finger-like bones at the elbow joint that made him look like an incarnation of evil. His eyes were normal aside from his sharingan being active. For all Naruko knew, his eyes weren't black anymore. Was this how all curse seals were or was Sasuke's special?

"What happened to you?" Naruko asked, then started at her own voice. It seemed normal, but there was a tone in it she didn't recognize. It almost sounded...different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it wasn't like her voice from before.

"_**Your power changed the curse seal and made me stronger. I thank you for that,"**_ Sasuke said with a slight bow, then smirked, **_"of course, I don't know the limit of my new power. Allow me to use your body to test how powerful I am."_**

"Sasuke, let's just stop and go home. Sakura wants you back," Naruko tried.

Sasuke growled as his wings twitched angrily. _**"Stop using Sakura as an excuse. You and I both know why you came here."**_

"I came to bring you back!" Naruko shouted.

"_**Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it one day, but it isn't why you came here. You came here for one reason only: to fight and defeat me!"**_ Sasuke declared as he pointed at the girl.

Naruko shook her head. "No! I don't want to fight you, not like this!"

Sasuke shot forward. _**"Then I'll finish it on my own!"**_ When Sasuke swung down on Naruko's head, she swung her claws up at his. Lighting and red chakra burst from where the claws met. Sasuke was slightly overjoyed. He could now fight the kitsune at close range without fear of her powers ruining him with each strike, though it still hurt a little bit. It seemed that he was able to coat his hands in lightning now, giving him far more power to his strikes than ever before. This new power still paled in comparison to the chidori, but it took so little chakra.

They backed off from one another and tensed for the next clash. Naruko was on two feet now, though her stance was a cross between barbaric and animalistic. Sasuke stood tall and proud, as if he didn't need a combat stance to fight the girl before him.

The two rushed forward and their attacks met, lightning briefly bursting and red smog slowly spreading in the valley. Naruko's other hand shot forward, only for Sasuke to backhand it away with his free hand. Naruko stepped back slightly and thrust her right hand forward, which Sasuke knocked away again. In spite of the sight blurring power his opponent's strikes left behind, Sasuke drove his hand forward, aiming for Naruko's head. He scored a clean hit, but Naruko's chakra absorbed most of the impact and lightning. As if to punish her teammate, Naruko's foot shot forward, hitting him in the stomach and knocking him back a good distance.

"_**You...I'm an Uchiha, a genius and prodigy! I have been chosen by the greatest of the Sannin! The one who destroyed the Uchiha clan too! I won't lose to someone like you!"**_ Sasuke roared as he tore forward again. This time, it was almost nothing but careless strikes. The speed and ferocity the two displayed through the fog of wild power would dizzy most fresh jōnin. Naruko's eyes changed during the fight, the irides developing a thin, strangely patterned band of hardened red, almost making it look like she had developed a form of the Sharingan.

Naruko suddenly reached out and caught hold of Sasuke's shirt, drawing him in to slam her forehead into his again. Sasuke blocked it by driving his knee into her stomach. The heir launched a sucker punch into Naruko's temple. The kitsune didn't like it and delivered a slobber knocker to Sasuke's cheek, making him reel as he stumbled away from the blow.

Sasuke managed to gather his bearings again and steadied his stance. He was panting slightly and feeling the pain. He knew that he didn't have much left to him and Naruko could probably keep going for a while. If he wanted to win, he'd have to use everything he had left in him to do it. _**"Did you know that I considered you my best friend before I learned what you really are?"**_ Sasuke asked out of nowhere. Anything to knock her off balance.

"Really?" Maybe Naruko could rekindle that bond and bring him back.

Sasuke scoffed. _**"Don't get all happy. An Uchiha's 'best friend' exists solely for the purpose of dying at their hands."**_

Naruko stepped back slightly, feeling both fear and disgust. "What?"

"_**We choose to have a 'best friend' so we can kill them later and gain the ultimate sharingan; the Mangekyō Sharingan. My brother has those eyes and I need them to kill him,"**_ Sasuke explained, **_"then again, you aren't my best friend. I can't be friends with a beast. Even if I want you to be my ally, that is all we'll ever be. Killing you wouldn't give me what I need."_**

Naruko felt used, or almost used. The whole time that she thought her and Sasuke were becoming friends, but it was all just so he could gain more power. First Mizuki used her for the scroll, then she was almost used by Sasuke so he could get more power. Now that she thought of it, whoever was in charge of arranging classes back at the academy had been using her for years so Sasuke would keep himself in top form. And now Sasuke wanted to use her as... as a living weapon of mass destruction.

She was through with being someone's plaything, it ended today!

"**RASENGAN!"** Naruko roared as the evil chakra exploded off her and tore into the valley with reckless abandon, almost resembling claws dragging along the ground and slamming into the wall. The chakra orb of crimson power formed without the assistance of a clone or her other hand. In spite of being perfectly stable, the spiraling ball of chakra radiated Naruko's overwhelmingly evil chakra and intense flashes of light. She didn't notice it right away, but the chakra coming off her body had strengthened too, becoming a blaze. The air was humming and vibrating with her power. She even sunk a few inches into the ground from the weight of her own rasengan.

Sasuke went through the seals and used up all his remaining chakra to form his own deadly jutsu. _**"Chidori!"**_ he shouted as the extremely powerful blade of black and white lightning formed. The charge was so intense that his hair stood on end and the ground was scarred from the licks of lightning.

The two genin charged at each other, forcing their strongest jutsu at the other. The two met, an incredible blast of power tearing the area to shreds from where the terrible jutsu clashed, creating what would later be a small lake within the Valley of the End as the power flared wildly.

The two jutsu struggled against each other, then Naruko's rasengan blasted forward, destroying Sasuke's chidori and shattering every bone in his right arm. He bit his lip to stop from screaming as the curse seal receded and the pain quadrupled. It was at this moment that he saw Naruko was still at 'full' power, her free hand held back for a strike. Even though he could see that it was going to hit him with his sharingan, there was nothing he could do about it with his battered body.

Naruko drove a palm strike into Sasuke's sternum, sending the boy flying across the valley and into the wall with enough force to crack it and knock him out before he fell to the ground. The girl panted as the chakra was drawn back into her, sealing itself inside her body until she needed it again. Pain shot through her chest for a moment, then it passed. She looked to Sasuke and saw something shining between them. She walked over and picked it up. It was Sasuke's forehead protector, a deep gash in it from where her claws had raked against it. It almost looked like the ones those weird guys who wanted her wore...

Naruko quickly went over to Sasuke and found him to be badly injured, but alive. "I told you that I always keep my promises," Naruko said as she picked the boy up and started making her way back to Konoha with him on her shoulder. She walked a good fifteen minutes before the world suddenly started to waver and she fell to her knees. "Damn...too...tired..."

Thud.

A few minutes after she had fallen to the ground, a large, robed figure walked up and pulled Sasuke off Naruko. "Another Uchiha. This world, and her, would be better of without you...but she fought so hard for your 'redemption.' I'll spare your life for now, Uchiha, but I will destroy you if you cross her again," the figure said as they flipped Sasuke onto their shoulder. "Orochimaru's lair... I can feel the evil in the air. I'll dump him near the entrance. Not like the snake can help the kid fully master his sharingan."

The robed person made their way towards the very base Orochimaru resided.

Ten minutes later, Kakashi and Pakkun found Naruko on the ground. He quickly checked her pulse, finding that she was still alive and had just passed out from exhaustion. Seeing as how her clothes were almost completely ruined and she was soaked, Kakashi pulled out one of his blankets and carefully wrapped the girl in it before picking her up. He hadn't been careless enough to not notice her tail, which he avoided.

Kakashi sighed. "You, Sensei, Kushina-san and Tsurenai all enjoy worrying me, don't you? I swear that my hair isn't naturally silver..."

Naruko snuggled deeper into the blanket with a slight smile.

_[A week later]_

Naruko felt heat and light suddenly hit her face and she rolled away from it. "Baa-chan~ I don't wanna wake up!" she whined.

The woman in question, who happened to be in the room, resisted the urge to send Naruko to the basement courtesy of the knuckle express. "I treat your battered body and you still have the gall to call me that? WAKE UP YOU LAZY BRAT!" she shouted, grabbed the mattress and flung the girl onto the floor.

Naruko released a sickeningly cute 'kon' yelp as she hit the ground. She shot off the ground and onto her feet, clearly angry. "Hey! What was that for, you old hag?"

Now that the girl was on her feet, Tsunade's hand flashed forward and settled itself on Naruko's forehead, a finger flick ready. "What did you say?" Tsunade asked in a calm, even and still threatening tone.

"Tsunade-sama, why did you wake me up like that?" Naruko asked in a cute tone as she sweat buckets.

Tsunade nodded to herself, satisfied with the forced respect. "You've been asleep for a week now. Its time for you to wake up and let us use the room for something far more useful, like treating a patient."

Naruko had a hurt look on her face. "But you said I was battered and you had to heal me. How am I not a patient?"

"I healed you after that little spat you had with Kabuto. Kakashi brought you in with an almost fully healed wound on your chest, some small cuts as well as some chakra burns to your torso and arms, but they were gone before I got you in a room, not even discolored spots. There is some good news though," Tsunade said with a slight smile.

Naruko remembered about her fight. "Is Sasuke okay? I hope I didn't fall on him..."

"...You were alone when Kakashi found you," Tsunade stated.

"What? But I knocked Sasuke out and was carrying him home when I passed out!" Naruko shouted.

Tsunade placed a hand on the kitsune's shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruko, but it looks like one of Orochimaru's lackeys took him away before Kakashi arrived."

Naruko growled as she ground the heel of her foot into the ground, actually cracking the floor tiles a bit. "Dammit! I was so close!"

"Naruko, the good news is that you can use jutsu freely again," Tsunade said, hoping to limit the damage the hospital took.

Naruko looked up at the woman, a completely dumbfounded expression on her face. "I couldn't use jutsu? When?"

Tsunade slapped the girl upside the head. "Remember Orochimaru's little pedo hickey? It messed up your jutsu when you ran into him again."

"Oh! I remember now!" Naruko shouted as she lightly rubbed where she had been hit, "does that mean I can use all my jutsu again?"

Tsunade sweat dropped, wondering how she ever relied on this air headed idiot. "Didn't I say that?" she rhetorically asked.

"Yeah! ...Oh! I guess I should get going, huh? Since I can use my jutsu again, I'm going to go train so I can bring Sasuke back properly next time! Thank Kakashi-sensei for locking up that stupid seal!" the girl cheered, then looked around. "Where are my clothes?"

Tsunade handed over some clothing. "These are clothes you can wear for now, and you should wear something similar to these for a while."

Naruko looked down at the clothes and lifted one piece up, making something fall to the ground. Naruko picked it up and found it to be... "WHAT!? This is just like Dango Lady's clothing!"

"They're her old clothes," Tsunade said after sighing, "look, yo-"

"I am not walking around Konoha looking like a crazy kunoichi!" Naruko shouted with all the pride she could muster.

Tsunade sweat dropped. "But you ARE a crazy kunoichi..."

Naruko blushed, realizing that she had committed social suicide just then. "I-I-I don't care. I'm going to wear nor- KYUUU!" A blush practically exploded on her face.

Tsunade jumped slightly at the sudden noise Naruko made. "What's the matter? Is Jiraiya outside the window?" Tsunade clenched her fist, causing the knuckles to crack slightly. Nearly dying once wasn't enough, eh? Even if she felt bad about that time, he still deserved it!

"Something just brushed my leg," Naruko said as she turned to find out what it was, only to find nothing as she felt it again. She tried the other way with the same result, then went as fast as she could in the other direction in an attempt to find the one who touched her leg.

Tsunade, once again, sweat dropped. _'Kitsune my Hokage hat, she looks more like a dog right now.'_ Tsunade thought as she reached out and stopped the girl from chasing her own tail. "Congratulations, Uzumaki Naruko, Sanban Kyūbi. You've grown a tail and can finally call yourself a proper Bijū."

Naruko reached back and found the tail, moving it so she could see it. "Cute..." she muttered, then paled, "this girlification thing sucks..."

"Anyway, Anko lent you her clothes because the coat will cover your tail. That and you don't need a bra with these clothes, as she says," Tsunade said.

Naruko remembered the times she had been crushed into Anko's breasts and realized that only mesh and thin cloth had separated her from Anko's 'Valley of (Naruko's) End.'

"Naruko, stop undressing Anko in your mind. I'm pretty sure she'd ruin you for anyone else," Tsunade stated.

"WHAT? I-I wasn't undressing anyone in m-my mind!" Naruko shouted.

Tsunade reached out and touched Naruko's face, then held up her finger, showing the girl blood. "Tell that to your blush and bleeding nose."

Naruko furiously wiped the blood away and tried to make her blush fade away. "I can't wear any of this with a tail..." she grumbled.

"Anko cut holes in the right area. I'd help you, but I'm not a lesbian and I'm definitely not interested in having that kind of relationship with you," Tsunade said as she showed the hole in the back.

Naruto didn't know whether to be disturbed by Anko making tail holes in her clothes or- "Wait, what was that about?"

Tsunade remembered that. "Tsurenai told me that touching a kitsune's tail is a request to become their lifetime mate. That's why you need to hide it, don't need you marrying every curious kid in Konoha."

Naruko quickly gathered up the clothes and went into the bathroom. She pulled them on, knowing that they sure as hell weren't Anko's old clothes, having a slight bit of trouble with her tail. Luckily, it was mostly bushy fur, but it still got caught a few times. The clothes fit perfectly, an embarrassingly perfect fit. Everything was being hugged and leaving very little to the imagination, the skirt being the only decent thing she wore now. She put on the coat, seeing that it did hide her tail from behind. She put Kakashi's memento necklace on again, feeling that odd sense of calm and warmth spread through her body again when it touched her. She'd need to ask Kakashi-sensei if there as a seal or something on it later. She didn't need to worry about Tsunade's necklace, since it seemed that it was the only piece of her old outfit that was left and it hadn't left her neck once since it was put on her. Now that she thought about it, she'd have to ask about her forehead protector later. Naruko vaguely remembered it falling off during the fight, the band having rotted away due to her chakra.

Tsunade forced a smile when Naruko came out of the bathroom wearing Anko's 'old' outfit. _'Damn! I __really need to outlaw Anko's fashion, or at least make her wear a shirt on top. If Jiraiya had his way, __that would be the new chūnin uniform for every kunoichi in the world!'_ She kept smiling. "Looks good on you," Tsunade praised. It was true and most men would agree.

"Well, I need to go train for a while. Tell Ero-Sennin where I am later!" And she opened a window and dropped. She stuck the landing perfectly, using her chakra to disperse the impact, cracking much of the ground around her. "Wow, that never happened before. Guess my chakra is stronger or something now. Or my control is bad again..." She let the tears flow at the thought of being unable to control her chakra properly. "Alright, water walking and tree climbing first!" Naruko took off at high speed to the third training ground.

Kakashi popped through the door to his student's room. "Yo Naru... Where's Naruko?" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi...you're late," Tsunade deadpanned.

Kakashi stared at her for a few moments. "Are you Naruko in henge?" he asked as he nervously pointed at her.

Tsunade's anger rose a notch as she glared at the man, letting Kakashi know she was the real deal. "My apologies Hokage-sama, it's just that Naruko always says the same thing with the exact same lack of emotion."

"Everyone says it the same way you porn addict!" Tsunade snapped, then took a deep breath to calm down, "you just missed her. I didn't even get to properly tell her about the curse seal."

"It's gone, how could you not tell her that?" Kakashi asked. After remembering who they were talking about, he sighed. "Yeah, I can guess how you couldn't tell her."

"She disobeyed me and left to get Sasuke," Tsunade grumbled. She knew stuff like this would happen at first, her being the first female Hokage and all, but to get it from a genin who she trusted enough to give that necklace to, someone who she broke down to and trusted with her very life, that was something she didn't expect. Then again, it is Naruko she was talking about. And the council had been yammering on like a bunch of babies when it happened, complaining about _their_ demon going off on its own. If she could get away with it, Tsunade would falsify some tests and make it seem like those old fogeys were touched in the head, making them unfit for council duties. What was the purpose of the council? It was like the Hokage was a mere figurehead since the council could out vote the supposed village leader.

"It turned out for the best, right?" Kakashi asked. Honestly, the psych report on Sasuke had him wondering why this didn't happen earlier. He wasn't a big fan of the Uchiha, Obito being the only decent Uchiha he personally met. Their Police Force's extremely fast arrests as well as the amount of people they took in had him wonder if they were protecting people, their own clan to be specific. So many friends of Uchiha died during the war and so many people were taken in that it was insane. What really bothered Kakashi was that many of them were people who were considered friends of Kushina and Minato, people who might have supported Naruko if they weren't banished for their 'crimes.'

Tsunade nodded. The ones who spoke out the most against her plans to start a medical ninja program the most were the Uchiha as well as Homura and Koharu, known Uchiha supporters. Well, the Hyuga had their say too, but that was only once. When news of the Uchiha clan's slaughter reached her, she actually spent all her money on getting plastered rather than gambling. The week long hangover was worth it. Now that she thought about it, she should go talk to the oldies, see if they loved their precious 'Sasuke-kun' now that he was a willing traitor. Knowing them, they'd find a way to pin the blame on Naruko, saying something ridiculous like she mind controlled him.

Kakashi saw the smile on Tsunade's and it disturbed him. Kind of reminded him of the time when Anko realized she could dip her dango in sake or her coffee. Those were scary times. "What's with the grin?" he asked.

"Oh nothing, just thinking of telling the council about Sasuke being a traitor, though they'll cry and moan about it, claiming that he wasn't thinking straight or Naruko did something to him. I bet a thousand ryo one of them will say that he'll come back on his own quickly enough," Tsunade said, her grin becoming more and more unsettling.

Kakashi sweat dropped. "I'm not taking that bet," he said as he pulled out his book and made a hasty retreat. Tsunade was always right about the council, which apparently cost Jiraiya approximately three hundred thousand ryo over the years. Kakashi did not want to follow that closely in the man's footsteps.

_[Training Ground 3]_

"Hah!" Naruko shouted as she back flipped off the tree, sticking the landing perfectly on the water. "What gives?" Naruko wondered as she looked at the water being pushed away from her feet. The tree was also more banged up than it should be. "My control is fine, so does that mean my chakra reserves increased?" If that was the case, she might need to learn how to release even smaller amounts of chakra she used for climbing up surfaces. The water bit was fine, since it would all just even itself out again.

"Hey there!"

Naruko turned to see a woman who was obviously an Inuzuka, since she was accompanied by three dogs and had the same fang markings as Kiba, but she looked more like a human than Kiba did. Her hair was smooth, her eyes weren't slitted and her nails were trimmed down. Naruko's eyes traveled over the woman's body, stopping quite suddenly at her cleavage. It took a little will power to tear her eyes away from the exposed flesh and back up to her face.

"Who're you?" Naruko asked as she wondered if she was becoming a pervert. Ever since she woke up, she felt way too warm and she had trouble not staring at women while her mind did a bloody nose dive.

"Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's onee-san," the woman said, not growling or anything. She seemed to be cut from a different cloth than Kiba, who was more like a dog than Akamaru at times.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruko," the kitsune greeted as she held out her hand.

Hana smiled as she shook the girl's hand. "Sooo, you're the one who beat my little brother up?"

Naruko started to sweat a bit. "Y-yes..."

"And you also beat on poor Akamaru?" Hana asked.

Naruko started to sweat harder, wondering why Hana hadn't let go of her hand yet. "Yes...?"

Hana's smile seemed sinister now. "You broke Kiba's nose..."

"I'm sorry!" Naruko shouted, bowing on the ground while her hand was still being held.

Hana laughed. "Don't worry about it, he needed to be knocked down a few pegs anyway."

Naruko popped her head up. "Eh?"

"Kiba's been a little too full of himself lately, being the most aggressive fighter on his team and all, so I was trying to think of a way to put him back in place. Me and mom were honestly thinking of reminding him at what age he stopped wetting the bed, or maybe ask him how old he was when he stopped asking if he could bathe with me," Hana explained.

Naruko stifled a laugh. "H-He wet the bed? And bathing with his s-sister? Til when?" Naruko asked, finding it very hard to talk and stop the laughter at the same time. The dam was cracking!

"Yeah, though I never thought of having a female kitsune beat him up like a naughty puppy," Hana said in a sing song tone.

"Yeah! I'm that kit..su...ne?" Naruko had started off loud and proud, but steadily got quiet as the weight of Hana's words set in. "EH! Y-You know? How?"

Han beamed again. "My name might be Hana, but it means 'nose' rather than 'flower.' I knew you weren't human the first time I saw you after you became a girl. Well, smelled your scent actually."

Naruko slumped her shoulders. "The number keeps growing..."

Hana sighed. "Look, I knew Tsurenai-san and I know you're her daughter, Uzumaki Naruko _Kyūbi._ Don't worry, Tsurenai-san taught me a lot about caring for animals, so I know you aren't evil or anything."

Naruko cheered up a bit. "You knew my mother... What was she like?"

"Hmm, that's easy. She was loud, annoying at times, ate way too much spicy food, gave Anko a run for her money in both dango eating and window shattering, loved pulling pranks way too often, and she couldn't cook unless you wanted charcoal, steam or instant food," Hana listed.

_'I got all my negative traits from my mom!'_ Naruko mentally wailed. Well, at least she didn't go crashing through windows. Yet. Did that mean her perverted nature was learned? Maybe her mother had been a very skilled closet pervert.

"She was also extremely kind, thoughtful of everyone around her, enjoyed playing with children, always fed the animals in the zeroth training ground, loved others in spite of receiving no love from them, she was also very strong and passionate about what mattered to her: her friends, this village and you, her daughter. You remind me of her," Hana finished with a soft smile.

Naruko blushed. Part of it was hearing about how important she was to her mother, the other part was due to Hana recognizing her good points, acknowledging her as a person rather than a monster.

Hana couldn't resist and hugged Naruko. "You're so cute when you blush. Makes me want to take you home. Wanna be my little sister?"

Naruko envisioned being Kiba's sister and paled. "No. Please no."

Hana smirked. "Don't worry about Kiba, I'll put him in the animal pens if he bothers you."

Naruko bit her tongue, since she was going to ask when he ever left the animal pens due to how he smelled sometimes. Even if Hana believed that Kiba got what was coming to him during the prelims as well as taking a bit of enjoyment out of seeing her brother squirm, Naruko got the feeling that Hana truly cared for Kiba, in a very strange way.

Hana knew that the game was over, so she let her go. "Well, if you ever need anything, call on me or my mom. We Inuzuka are one of the clans in Konoha who knew what Tsurenai-san was and saw through her family reputation. The Inuzuka owe her and you a lot." She waved as she walked away, signaling her dogs to follow her.

Naruko couldn't help but shout out a question. "What clans?"

Hana turned with a smirk. "The Inuzuka, the Akimichi, the Sarutobi, the Senju and the Yamanaka clans accepted her. The Nara were too lazy to care about her family's past and focused on what she did in front of them, when they weren't napping. The Aburame were indifferent to her. The Hyūga didn't ever want her in Konoha. The Uchiha... Well, you can guess that one on your own."

"Thanks!" Naruko called after the young woman. _'Well, that explains why Sasuke treated me like that in the end. Seems all Uchiha view me as a weapon.'_ Anyway, time to get back to training! There had to be a way to fix her chakra overload issue.

_[Next day]_

Naruko shot up, waking from a perverted dream she couldn't remember. All she knew was that it was good. She was almost a hundred percent certain that it involved Sakura too. The sun had been a nice gold as well.

Naruko did the usual morning routine, though her tail made her alter events slightly. She'd need to spend a bit more money on shampoo and conditioner, but at least her tail would be fluffy and soft, just like her hair. Naruko had touched the top of her head at one point, wondering if she'd sprout ears next. As long as she didn't grow whiskers, fur, or take on a fox-like form, it was all good. Actually, having nine tails might be a pain.

After getting dressed, deciding that she'd need new clothes unless she wanted to be called 'Anko the second,' Naruko left her house to have an early morning bowl of ramen. Make that twenty bowls of ramen. Actually, Naruko wanted something hot to get rid of this hazy fever she had.

"Naru-chan!" Ayame greeted, "want the usual miso ramen to begin with?"

"I want the spiciest ramen you have," Naruko said, wanting to breath fire without the aid of jutsu. This fever had to go... Ayame was kinda cute...

_'No Naruko! Keep yourself in check! She's your friend, your onee-san! She is not a target for waking perverted fantasies!'_ Naruko mentally shouted at herself. She did have a few naughty dreams about Ayame, but she didn't have any control over her dreams.

"Coming up!" Teuchi called from the pots. He quickly whipped up the ramen and it was served, though Ayame actually winced and kept her face out of the wafting steam since it was hot enough to bring tears to her eyes. The blush on the ramen waitress' face didn't escape Naruko's notice, who felt the heat in her body and head jump a few degrees.

Naruko looked down at the ramen, knowing that this would be very, very hot! She took a bit and tried it, found that she loved it and attacked the meal with her usual speed. Ayame actually tugged on her shirt a bit, feeling the heat from the ramen even if she wasn't eating it. Thankfully, Naruko hadn't seen this.

Six bowls later, Naruko was interrupted.

"Naruko...?"

The kitsune turned and saw her teammate, Sakura, standing behind her. Naruko finished the bowl and turned to Sakura. "What is it?"

Sakura flinched a bit. Naruko's voice lacked the usual happiness, light and warmth that Sakura was used to. It was cold and guarded, a sign that Naruko knew what Sakura had done.

…

_'This is awkward...'_ Sakura thought as she tightly gripped her hands behind her back while grinding the heel of her sandal in the dirt. Now that she was here and ready to apologize, she was at a loss for words. Well, she knew what she wanted to say, but she was afraid it would come out wrong and make things worse.

…

_'Okay, I'll just go forward. If I just speak from my heart, I should be able to properly express myself,'_ Sakura thought as she took a deep breath. "Naruko...I-"

"UWOOOOH! My Youth senses indicate that Naruko-kun is over here, Jiraiya-sama!" Guy boomed as he rounded a corner with the white haired sannin, who looked drained from the experience of being a Youth sermon attendee, "there she is!" the bushy browed man declared as he pointed at Naruko dramatically.

"T-thanks Guy, it was a...unique experience," Jiraiya said as he walked up to the two girls, "hmm? Am I interrupting something? If that's the case, I'll go hide around the corner and use this as reference material for my next book!" He was now panting slightly as images flew through his brain. If Naruko played her cards right, she'd have both members of her little harem all over her! Heck, maybe she could snare more women too!

_**'CHA! Of course you're interrupting something, Ero-master!'**_ Inner Sakura screamed. "Um..."

"No, not really," Naruko said.

Jiraiya looked from the kitsune to the girl, seeing the pink haired girl had a hurt look deep in her eyes. "Me and Sarutobi-sensei thought of something while talking with Tama-chan and we want to know if you'd be interested in hearing it," the Sannin said.

Naruko thought for a few moments, then nodded. "Sure."

"Alright, let's go to Tama-chan and Sarutobi-sensei so they can tell you too," Jiraiya said as he led the girl towards the hospital.

Sakura stood where she had been left, fighting back tears. She had messed up twice now. She had to apologize to Naruko as soon as she could. Tomorrow, she'd make up with the girl.

_[Next day, around noon]_

Sakura now had an understanding of how a pinball felt. She had been hunting for her teammate since early morning, but she kept getting deflected around with instructions from people who had seen Naruko early in the day. According to everyone, she was making her rounds and giving farewells because she was going on a long mission. Since a written apology was nothing compared to a spoken one, and waiting a month or two would make things worse, Sakura was frantically chasing the redhead around the village.

Sakura ran into Shikamaru, gazing at clouds with Temari sitting nearby.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura shouted, making Temari jump slightly and Shikamaru pretend he was sleeping. "I know you're awake," Sakura muttered as she sat on the bench next to Temari, "hello Temari-san."

"H-Hi Sakura-san," Temari stuttered. She felt like she didn't belong here all of a sudden. How did she go from lazy chūnin watching to feeling like the fifth wheel?

"What do you want Sakura?" Shikamaru asked, wanting to get rid of BOTH girls as soon as possible. Well, at least Temari had been quiet the whole time. Sakura, like Ino, never seemed to shut up.

"I heard Naruko was headed this way, where is she?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, that. She was heading to the hospital to check up on Choji, Kiba and Neji, then she was heading to the gate to leave. If I were you, I'd make my way for the gate and apologize for making her angry," Shikamaru advised.

Deciding not to question how Shikamaru knew, Sakura rushed as fast as she could to the village gates.

_[Village gates, three minutes later]_

Sakura had enough time to catch her breath, then Naruko arrived with those who were going with her: the out of office Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya of the Sannin and Shiratama, former guardian kitsune of Konoha. She would later learn that Haku stayed in Konoha at the request of Naruko. The young ice user was left behind to protect Konoha and those Naruko cared about, Sakura included.

"Naruko!" Sakura called out.

The kitsune stiffened a bit, then decided she was being childish here. "What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura bowed down as quickly as she could. "I'm sorry I told Sasuke-kun your secret! I was just scared I was going to lose him forever! If I knew he would just leave like that anyway and hurt you like that, I would ne-never have..." She was crying now as she fell to her knees. It was the first time she had let out her true self and her emotions for the first time in a long time. She was no longer being someone's 'ideal girl,' she was just Haruno Sakura, a scared and confused girl trying to apologize for making a mistake.

Naruko wanted to hug the girl, to soothe her, but she was still hurting a little. Sakura had betrayed her, almost in the way Sasuke had betrayed Konoha. "Its alright Sakura, I understand. If it was you leaving, I would tell you all the secrets I knew of others, but that doesn't mean I can forgive you all at once. I... I just need some time."

Sakura didn't look at the redhead. She knew it wouldn't be easy or quick, but at least Naruko said she could forgive her.

"Naruko, I'm training to become a medic like Tsunade-sama, so I can fight better and help you heal faster. Next time, we'll bring him back together," Sakura said as she looked at Naruko's face.

Naruko smiled a bit and nodded slightly. "Yeah, we'll bring him back Sakura."

For the first time since she uttered Naruko's secret, Sakura felt right. It was strange. She thought Naruko bringing Sasuke back would make her feel better, but just being friendly with the kitsune again was enough. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if she would have felt this if Sasuke had been brought back. That bad feeling she had when Naruko left vanished when she was brought back. Could it be that she worried Naruko wouldn't come back? That had to be it. Maybe, deep down, Sakura knew Sasuke wouldn't be coming back, not this time anyway.

"I guess I'll see you again in a few months?" Sakura asked.

Naruko grit her teeth, a new nervous habit she had. "I...I don't know."

Sakura nearly stumbled. "What?"

Naruko looked away from the pink haired girl. "We're going so I can use my kitsune abilities and grow stronger. Tama said it could take years for me to control my power. At the very least, she said we'll be gone for six years..."

And now Sakura's bad feeling was back and worse than ever. "Tha-that's too long! What if that traitor tries something! Didn't Jiraiya-sama say something about three years?" Sakura shouted, panic taking over.

Naruko grabbed Sakura's shoulders so the girl would stop yelling. "During the fight, my chakra went wild and Sasuke was bathed in it. Chances are, Orochimaru won't be able to use Sasuke as his next body because of that. Even so, I'm going to train like I always do, so I can come back faster than she thinks and get our teammate back. It should have taken me months to master the Rasengan, but I did it in a week. This little training trip will be over before you know it, Dattebyo!"

Sakura allowed a lopsided smile spread on her face. It had been so long since she heard that nonsense word slip from Naruko's mouth. Every time she unleashed the 'Dattebyo,' she always did what she said she would, except make Sakura fall for her. "Then I'll do my best to master Tsunade-sama's teachings before you even learn a katon," Sakura challenged.

Naruko grinned at the girl, her teeth (and her canines) all exposed and showing she was ready to make Sakura eat her words. "I win, we go on a date. You win, I'll buy you whatever you want for a week!" Naruko said.

Now Sakura had her own smug grin. "Deal! I hope your wallets are ready to drain," she said as she the two shook on it.

Now that all things were back to how they should be, though possibly better in one way, Naruko turned and joined her little training party. Hiruzen and Tama would help her get her katon down, all three would try and help her taijutsu out and Jiraiya was mostly in charge of filling Naruko's empty head with everything she'd need to be an effective shinobi. The toad sage would also try to sharpen her ninjutsu. They would do more, but Naruko kind of lost interest during the discussion and the adults decided to leave it as a surprise since Naruko deserved it for not listening.

The four made it a few meters from the village, still within Sakura's view, when Naruko was attacked.

Sakura saw the dark shape shoot out of the bushes and beeline for the kitsune empress. "NARUKO!" she shouted as she started to run forward.

Hiruzen, Tama, Jiraiya and Naruko all tried to turn, but they all suddenly stiffened for the few seconds it took for the dark shape to reach Naruko, tackle her down and...

Sakura stopped, as did everyone else.

Naruko was frozen solid as her assailant...Oh Kami!

Atop Naruko was none other than Yamanaka Ino, her body straddling and pinning Naruko's to the ground while her lips were pressed to kitsune's lips. Both girls were blushed, though Ino beat the kitsune hands down. Unknown to both girls, The two girls' hands came together in the infamous 'lover's hand hold,' with Ino and Naruko's fingers locking their palms together during the kiss.

_'NEW BOOK! NEW BOOK! NEW BOOK! SAVE IN PERMANENT PERV MEMORY!'_ Jiraiya mentally screamed as his student experienced a joy he couldn't: lesbian kissing. Well, he couldn't personally enjoy it, but he could take in the view.

Hiruzen remembered that time he found his daughter, Suzu, and her best female friend practicing french kissing. It seemed similar, but this was different.

Shiratama remembered her first love. She had been too young at the time and the man couldn't ever love anything to begin with. In the end, she let the feelings die.

Ino broke contact and smiled a bit. "That was better than I thought. You got real talent, don't you?" she asked, only to see that Naruko had fainted. Ino chuckled a bit. "Naruko's first real kiss: get."

The kitsune picked Naruko up and the group started to make their way to their first destination, wanting to tease the girl when she woke up. Ino watched them leave and touched her lips. _'That was the best kiss I ever had. Maybe I really have...'_ she blushed a bit as she smiled and made her way back into the village. "Shikamaru, we're done here. Go back to your date with Temari-san." the blonde practically ordered.

Shikamaru strolled out of the bushes with Temari behind him. He was a little tired from locking up four strong people with his shadow, but at least Ino wasn't nagging at him anymore. "As if I'd ever even think of dating such a troublesome blonde..." he muttered.

"Hmph! I prefer my men to have a spine and some spunk to them. This lazy chūnin is none of that. He's scrawny too," Temari said as she walked past the slow moving Nara, but eventually stopped so she could follow him to his next napping spot.

"Yeah, yeah. We know you like each other," Ino said as she walked up to Sakura, "so For-!"

Sakura was standing there, mouth open in shock as her eyes remained locked on the spot Ino had stolen a kiss from Naruko. Ino actually felt some pressure from the girl and swore that she saw that crazy second Sakura behind her, screaming in a rage.

_'Fury mode?'_ Ino thought as she walked by. It did feel like that personality in Sakura's head was pissed off last time she was there, so maybe it was starting to merge with 'outer' Sakura.

"Hey Forehead! I'm going to master Tsunade-sama's techniques first and impress Naruko more than you ever could, if you get my drift," Ino said as she made sure to stand in profile, showing her slightly curvier body off.

Sakura spun around, saw the difference and growled. She wished she could do that and not be called a kid. "Pig! I'm going to be using you to practice healing for a while. First, I need to make the wounds!" Sakura shouted as she rushed at the blonde. She'd never lose to this pig again. As soon as Sasuke came back, he'd choose Sakura!

Ino just laughed and ran away, knowing Sakura couldn't catch her and their abilities were virtually the same, meaning it would always end in a draw. Her thoughts turned to Naruko and she changed her mind. _'I'm not going to let you go any further ahead of me. Now that I know what I want, I'll get Naruko.'_

**A/N~**

Good news and bad news! First, the good news: I'm back and weaving more dreams for you! Quite literally, I've got a few new ideas for stories. One is is a fic that will be released once this one and KTD are finished. It should be listed on my page along with 'The Greatest.' That and this new project will be the next two coming out. Read the summary for details.

And now the bad news. Summer is sickness season for me and writing gets harder when I'm sick because I normally get extremely tired, weak or I have a pounding headache, which all send the plot bunnies running for the hills. Updates will always be slow during summer, and faster during the cooler months. Plain and simple, I can't stand the heat.

On a final note, this will be the last chapter for a while since I need to go read up to the deviation point for this fic, plan out events and design Naruko's Part II appearance/clothing. It could take a while, but I'll try to get through it as quickly as possible. As for what the deviation point is, anyone should be able to figure that one out. I'm also doing a bit of research on trying to make a more matured Naruko. I'm thinking of splicing some things. So far, I'm going to use Archer Illia's hairstyle from Prisma Illia, since it fits Naruko's slightly masculine personality. And I'm going to make her a bit more perverted.

**The 'I-don't-know-what-to-call-it' Index-**

Sakura's Fury Mode: Characterized by Sakura going completely stiff while emitting a powerful aura of anger. Those with the aptitude, or when Sakura's rage hits a certain level, can see Inner Sakura alongside the aura. At this time, it is unknown if this ability has any use in combat.

**-Omake-**

**You had that kind of weakness?**

Sasuke was holding Naruko under the water when it hit him. His foot was planted on a real girl's chest. He quickly lifted his foot off the girl and bolted back a good distance. "Stay away from me!"

Naruko coughed and sputtered as she got the water out of her lungs. "Wha-what's going on?"

Sasuke pointed a shaky finger at her. "You stay away from me! I'm warning you!"

Naruko got onto her feet. "What's your problem? Know what, I don't care! I'm taking you back home, by force if necessary!"

Sasuke backed away from the kitsune that was closing in on him. "I said stay back!"

Naruko was pissed off. "What's your problem with me? Do you hate redheads or something?"

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. "I can't stand girls and their cooties! Don't touch me!" he whined as tears of fear gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Naruko's jaw fell open as she stared at this...this... SISSY BOY! Wait! If that was the case...

A few hours later, Naruko dragged a struggling Sasuke, who was wearing her dress wrapped around his wrists, through the gates of Konoha.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as she latched onto the boy, completely ignoring her almost naked teammate.

"NO! I'm being infected! Get her off me!" Sasuke wailed as he struggled in his bindings.

"What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Well, he's still thinks girls ha-" Naruko started.

"Naruko!" Ino shouted as she appeared from behind a sign, "since you did such a good job bringing Sasuke-kun back, I'll treat you to some ramen and allow you to be seen in public with me."

Naruko, loving ramen, especially FREE ramen, decided to take her up on that offer, even if Ino hated her guts and just wanted to look good in front of Sissy-uke. "Sure!"

Ino smirked. "First, I'll get you some real clothes. You're wasting your looks by copying Forehead's lack of style. At least you copied my colors, and have a figure that doesn't look at home on a young boy." She ignored Sakura's growl.

"Eh! But I like those dresses~" Naruko whined.

"Since you're tall and still act like a boy, maybe some pants and a jacket? Actually, some shorts will work and still show off your legs... Hmm, what else?" Ino wondered aloud, "come on, let's go shopping!" She grabbed Naruko's arm and started to walk away, but not before Naruko looked back.

"Naruko! Save me! I'm going to die!" Sasuke shouted as Sakura continued to glomp him.

Ino forcibly turned Naruko's face toward her own. "Never, EVER go looking at someone else when going somewhere with a girl," Ino warned. _'Especially me!'_

"R-right," Naruko stammered, just noticing how soft Ino's hand was. She was pretty cute too. She smelled nice too...like a fresh garden after a light rainfall...

Ino shot a look back at Sakura, who had a satisfied smirk on her face as she held Sasuke. Sakura actually stiffened when she saw Ino's evil grin of victory. _'W-what? It's almost like...she's happy she got to Naruko before anyone else. But that's not possible, Ino loves boys, Sasuke-kun specifically. Two girls could never go out with each other.'_

Later on, in the change room, Ino 'helped' Naruko get her clothes on. Suffice to say, the clerk was in perverted lesbian heaven due to the cameras she had hidden in the change rooms which recorded every moment of Ino's little game on Naruko's body, from multiple angles, high-res and surround sound!

"That blonde is so naughty~" the woman practically groaned as a bit of drool slipped from the corner of her mouth. How she wished she were the one helping that cute redhead out of her clothes...then helping her get dressed again... with some delays of course.

**Responses-**

**Sky Zephyrus:** Yeah, Sakura's not going to live this betrayal down so easily. That was my fic's version of the Land of Iron betrayal. (Which may or may not happen in this fic anyway) And I bet you didn't think the fight would reach those levels. And if you think she got let off too easily, do remember that it is 'Sakura' now, not 'Sakura-chan.'

**Twell101:** Here you go.

**WolfDragonGod:** We all want to see Naruko fall in love with two lovely ladies. Just remember that she's still a thick headed idiot, so the girls will need a diamond drill or something to get her to know what they want.

**Qaletaga:** Well, I guess Naruko did feel betrayed, but not by just Sasuke. She went through her memory and realized she had been a tool her entire life. Suffice to say, Naruko was pissed off! I will name that rasengan she used later, in part II. Don't expect her to go all postal like this often, since I'm putting a limiter on it.

**xXxWhiteWolf12xXx:** Yeah, the whole NarukoXSakura thing will be a bit rough after Sakura, for lack of a better term, fucked Naruko over to try and keep Sasuke around. If she thought it was awkward after Wave, this is going to be like having to go around Konoha without a single stitch of clothing on for a week. Good thing it gives Ino a bit of a head start!

**chm01:** The harem fic is one of my 'fun' fics. Fun fics are stories I throw together for the sole purpose of amusement, so they have a much lower priority than any other story. And you read the fight, so who do you think won?

**Irish Shift:** I finally realized what E K means, my pen name initials. I thought it was some kind of web slang I wasn't familiar with. Anyway, thanks for recognizing my evil nature. I don't know about genius, though I remember taking an IQ test and they mentioned 'above average.' That cliff hanger was stuck in my head and I just had to make it work. I knew people would like it, mainly because it confirms what Sakura did.

**ddcj1990:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**SuperNeos2:** Yes, the pinkette did go and tell Sasuke what Naruko was. And get rid of that lynch mob behind you. No hanging the pinkette today. Wait until I release the two shot that I've been working on (sometimes) for your Sakura hating fix. It's a Naruto/Ino fic called "Walking in Rain" and I hope to have shot one finished up sometime soon. I got everything set in my head, just need to hit the keys until its all down in an odt file.

**harlequin320:** And here's your fix.

**AsterBlake333:** I know what you tried to type, but my sadistic streak forced me to write that. I sometimes type at such a high speed that I miss letters or things get mixed up. What's real fun is typing while watching TV. I once wrote four solid pages that way with only five mistakes.

**DarkLordK:** Tayuya is actually going to remain a prisoner for a while. I'll have her join up with Konoha later, but that's only after something happens to her. Naruko's sonic roar is still not completely mastered, but she's getting better. She was separated from the team and made to go on her own as a sort of show that she has authority of her own in the world as the Empress of Kitsune, and to show that she's still an idiot. She's still got into a heap of trouble for that...

**Qalataga:** You like...STABBING!? (Said in a Richtofen style accent) As you can see, I prefer the somewhat cold shoulder. Sakura went down quite a few pegs on Naruko's list of important people.

**WolfDragonGod:** Everyone wants to see Naruto/ko kick ass and fall in love! And they (non SasuSaku fans) also want Sasuke six feet under. BTW, I think I'm going to kill Sasuke off in this fic. I sort of made him irredeemable this time.

**Hichitsuki-hime:** This is the first one you've read that involves Naruto/ko being a Bijū? There's tons of them, mostly unfinished, so they shouldn't be that hard to find. Well, can't go disappointing a Hime-sama, so here's the next chapter.

**god of all & Veldrisk:** Here's the new chapter. Sorry for the wait.

**Gaara king of sand:** Actually, the trip is only two and a half years long. And I already made a few unique abilities that she can use, one of which has already been seen in this fic. I'm not making any new clone techniques, since I've already created at least four for KTD and that's not counting clone based attacks. In fact, a lot of Naruko's abilities are derived from the abilities of a villain I've recreated for KTD, but I watered them down.

**Brilliantteazer:** Updated. And it ISN'T a Naruto/Ino fic, it's a Naruko/Ino/Saku fic. In this story, Naruto died during birth, therefor there is no Naruto. How can it be Naruto/Ino without Naruto?Accuracy is something I like. I'm not like those guys who post a Naru/Ino romance story that has Naruto and Ino never getting in a relationship during the whole damn fic.

**Bitten2:** Glad you like it. Updated as well.

**Arvano:** Again, Naruto/ko as a bijū has been done time and time again. And as of this chapter, canon is mostly broken. When this fic starts up again, Naruko is going to have new powers, a new look and a somewhat new attitude. Expect the following: a tired Jiraiya, a Hiruzen who wants to retire, a more perverted Naruko, a romantically pushy Ino and Sakura going into rages more often.

Oh, and the catfights that break out between pink and blonde after Sakura falls for Naruko. Meeeow~

**Sakura3112:** And it is continuing.

**S.P.Q.T:** Are Naruto and Naruko distinct here? I wonder...

There was another Biju Naruko story, but it vanished while I was trying to review it. I remember reading that it was on adult fanfiction. Actually, it was inspired by this fic. It was called 'Tales of Kyūbi's child.' Honestly though, his OCs were all cut from the same cloth, having almost identical physical appearances. (big boobs, big hips, hair reaching the butt) I do praise the eyes he gave Naruko, very original. I kind of stole my Naruko's Kyūbi Mode eyes from a Naruko (controlled by Kurama)XSakura yuri H doujinshi I found. It's actually quite tame, considering it involves chakra tail/tentacles.

I decided the whole Oiroke Naruko thing was overdone (almost as overdone as Naruto absorbing the Kyūbi, becoming the Kyūbi, becoming the Jūbi, gaining Rinnegan, etc) and built this version of Naruko from other characters, mostly Ino and Sakura. Besides, Naruko doesn't need massive bre- chakra reservoirs.

As for what I've done to make her slightly different from Naruto... That's simple: her reaction to 'Girlification' and I made her a tad bit more airheaded. Naruto can roll with lots of things: ramen, girls falling in love while s/he doesn't notice, having a pervert teach him/her, etc. But the one thing that would disturb even Naruto would be thinking like a girl! No pervert would suddenly go: "I'm a...girl? ALRIGHT!"

(Well, maybe Jiraiya would, but he is a very special case)

And I made her far more perverted than canon Naruto. Anyway, here's more of different! And nice double post! (Guy and Lee give nice guy poses with tooth shine)

**ladygoddess8:** The reason I don't think Shizune would ever work in a harem with Naruto is because, from the very beginning, the two radiated this whole sibling aura, which I don't know in spite of having an older sister. (We tolerate each other, sometimes, barely/ Actually, we hate each other) I have seen fics where people work in the whole ShizuneXNaruto thing, but I can't really do it too well. I either have to alter how one saw the other from the very beginning or make it so that their feelings for each other change. I do have a fic in the work that has NarutoXShizune (along with other girls) but it is a very long way off in the horizon.

In all honesty, I'm with many other people who believe that NaruHina will never happen. The reason I say this is due to the almost extreme lack of contact between the two. (I'd say maybe two or three weeks, five at the most, over the period of four years) Of course, I also believe that Naruto will die (along with Sasuke) in canon and not wind up with anyone.

I haven't quite worked out how Naruto gets roped into the harem yet, because it is still bare bones. I was thinking somewhere along line of him forming bonds, or strengthening existing bonds, with the girls. Beyond that, I don't have a clue.

Ino is, almost always, winding up with Naruto in my fics. The reason is because, out of all the NarutoX(female character) pics I've seen, the NarutoXIno pics look the most natural, even more natural than NarutoXSakura pics. (NarutoXTayuya pics are always hilarious, especially the one where she's sitting on his back) If Naruto doesn't wind up with Ino, I make an OC for her to hook up with. The reason I do this is because most of the male characters in Naruto don't mesh well with her. Most people just default to InoCho or InoShika, if the Desert Rose is incapable of snaring the lazy genius. What's even worse is InoSasu. Plain and simple, she doesn't match with any of them.

**Choasweaver6139:** I always make sure to make my facts work out, even if I don't reveal all of them right away. Just to let you know, there are still two mysteries related to Naruko that I haven't even hinted at yet. Well, I hinted at one in a review response, but I doubt anyone saw them for what they are.

I take the second paragraph with mixed feelings. I know I have issues, such as the story going back and forth in time, but they are from two different points of view so they can be explained somewhat. Foreshadowing is, according to all of the English teachers I had, one of my strengths. I love the concept of a foreshadowing cliff hanger chapter end, especially in the form of a fanfic or even manga, where it is most effective due to the release method. As to me growing into a great author...I don't know if I'll reach the upper crust of fanfiction writers, but I hope to at least become one where people see my name and pop in to see if the story is as good as the ones they like. As for the plan, shaky at best right now. I have some changes planned, one of which should be as obvious as the moon appearing during the day, but nobody has picked up on it. Ah well, they'll see it eventually.

As for the girls and their teetering emotions, how would you react if you suddenly found yourself having feelings for someone you didn't like at all who was suddenly the same gender as you? They don't know how to handle it and, since there appear to be no homosexual couples (unless you squint hard while looking at Guy and Lee during a hug, or stare at the Guy and Kakashi piggy back scene for too long) in the Narutoverse, they have the usual social stigma when it comes to same sex couples. For Ino, it's worse because Naruko's power intoxicated her and made her go into a form of heat when it came to the kitsune.

You also have to remember that Sakura goes from blushing in Naruto's presence to beating the blood out of him in a heartbeat, so her wild mood swings around Naruto aren't something I made up, that's canon.

Flammers, in general, have overly high expectations and downright hate anyone who falls below them. Most want deviation to the point where the story is almost completely different, which ruins it for Part II eventually due to Naruto gaining far too much power. Most writers see that and make it so the story ends during Part I or the fic just gets abandoned somewhere along the way out of frustration. I don't mind added content, just don't go destroying the story so it no longer works. To such people, I say move on if you don't like it. If they keep reading and posting reviews, I must be doing something right since they're still reading. (snickers)

Fanfiction exists for people to write what they want, within reason of course. We write how we want events to unfold, whether it is a slight change, a major one or the story is an AU/AR. I decided to go with smaller changes during all but the end of Part I with bigger changes in Part II. I use the first part as a type of stage to build up Part II. The foundations are laid down, awaiting Part II and the changes it brings. Some of my fics do have major changes to Part I, but nothing story breaking. The next set of fics coming out all deviate in Part I, but only due to changed perceptions/OC involvement.

I find in funny that you tell me to not tell people that I'm a vampire, then admit to the same thing in the same 're a 'psychic' vampire. I can do a similar thing, though it is mostly ambient energy (natural and man made) I can absorb. Unlike you, I seem to feed off negative energy better than positive energy. The source of the energy doesn't even need to be a living being, I've siphoned energy from haunted locations before as well.

As for being ridiculed or shunned, that is a fact of life for me. Women tend to become my friends while men hate me for various reasons. I guess I just got a way with women, though I'm not in it for anything other than friendship, which has frustrated a girl or two in the past. I don't mind the current setup since I, for some reason, seem to dislike both male blood and energy. It just feels/tastes disgusting to me, nothing compared to the soothing nature of a woman's energy and blood. I guess you could say that it takes a beauty to calm this beast. (grins wickedly)

**Spazzyninjafish:** Didn't think so ;P

My stamina took a hit from my injured foot, as did my strength. I've been building it back up, converting fat into muscle again in the process. Funny how I was inactive for so long and didn't put a pound of weight on. My metabolism is funny like that.

Flat feet. I have a similar issue now with my right foot, but that's due to the tendon being severed and all the nerves not working properly. Sadly, the injury makes doing standard push ups impossible. My right foot starts sliding and trying to find good purchase, which it won't find due to damaged nerves, making me look like a cat in a litter box or something. That's embarrassing...

Some of what you do to distract yourself sounds a little crazy, but I do wonder odd things myself, though it is mostly rooted in what is happening with current technological trends (how the Xbox 720 is still going to suck) or the release patterns of manga/fanfics. Currently, I'm wondering when hydrogen fuel cells will replace standard gasoline fuel tanks as well as when will Naruto the Gilgamesh get a new chapter. Strange thoughts, but it works. As for why Da Vinci wasn't in Revelations, which I haven't played yet, I do believe that the man in charge of the building (a man of the cloth no less) beat him on a daily basis as well as locked him away when he wasn't working. History is also one of my subjects of interest, though it mostly relates to paranormal encounters, unusual events, mysterious structures and UFO sightings.

I trip on my words too, but that's because my mind runs far faster than my hands or mouth ever will. I'm literally three sentences ahead of myself most of the time, and that's when I'm slowing my mind down. Doesn't help much that I've had so little contact with people lately that I fear I may be going into a strange form of feral nature. And, for some odd reason, I figured you hated girly stuff. People also found it strange that my favorite past times aren't reading books, but cutting monsters and people in half or putting large holes in them. I like other games, like RPGs, but I also like games where you can level a shotgun at an enemy and watch bone fragments and gore fly. And don't get me started on motorcycles. I still love those sweet machines that were found on American Pickers. Those things were beauty and function rolled into wonderful metal. (drools)

Seems like, expression wise, we're complete opposites. Then again, I don't have too much to smile about lately. I mostly have a lopsided grin/smirk when I'm happy. I've actually tried a toothy grin (or whatever you want to call it) while looking in a mirror and decided that I didn't want to look like a serial killer...

My most recent picture (from 2008) looks more like a mugshot too... Funny how I still look like that, just with longer hair and a bit more of a need for a shave. No beard, just stubble. That's how I like it. Rugged, rough and worn out is my style. If I look 35 when I'm 35, I could easily pass myself off as an older style police detective.

I find that people who struggle to be the most popular person find that old saying to be extremely true: it's lonely at the top. Your group of friends sound great. Kind of wish I had more friends in high school, probably would have kept me there to finish on time rather than at 21. While I didn't have a whole lot of friends, they were all good people who genuinely cared about my well being. I don't even get that kind of care from my sister, who normally finds me at fault for almost everything. Even when I'm right, I'm snarled at. Bitch...

I once got asked why I wasn't in the kitchen while playing an MMORPG (and using my female character) and I said something that humiliated him in front of all his online pals. My response was as follows: "Why should I be in the kitchen when you do such a good job and look so cute in that pink, frilly apron and maid outfit? Wait, why aren't you in the kitchen?" Well, it was something like that. All I remember is all his friends, who I think are now brain dead Blops players, laughed at him and threw l33t insults at him like no tomorrow.

(Why doesn't spell check mark 'l33t' as an error!? That's somewhat disturbing)

My normal nickname in life is 'Testament,' because, like Naruto, I make promises and try my best to keep them. (Testament means 'Solemn Promise') I've been called lots of other things, like 'Dream Weaver' and 'NetReaper' but Testament has been my nickname for over ten years now. Excele Kurokami is the name I took from one of my characters as my pen name because I liked it and it's unique. It also fits me quite well since my mind is fast (Excele = Accelerate) I'm always wearing dark colors and seem to know far more than I should about things I never learned. (Kurokami means Black God) Actually, the character's original last name was KuroiKami (Darkness God) but I decided to make it more along the lines of a normal name. That and, despite the character being a god of destruction, he isn't classed as an 'evil' god. He is more like a god of natural destruction.

Don't worry about forgetting to type your reply right away. Due to the amount of stories I have started, as well as the plot bunnies multiplying rapidly, I tend to forget to work on my main fics most of the time.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Return of the baka. Er, kitsune empress!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Narutoverse and I never will. I also don't own Naruko's hairstyle, which I 'borrowed' from the Prisma Illya manga. It is Archer Illya/Kuro Illya's hairstyle. Also, excuse Naruko's flirting, it is for a funny scene later on.**

Tap. Tap.

"Hmm, hasn't changed all that much," Naruko mused to herself. As she scanned around, she saw the monument now had Tsunade's face on it. "Worst tourist trap ever!" the single tailed kitsune declared. Then again, how did they do that? Naruko remembered that it was almost smooth cliff face where Tsunade's likeness was, so how? Maybe ninjutsu was involved. Now, what was earth based ninjutsu called again?

"Nn? Naruko...is that you?"

Naruko looked down to see a wide eyed Kakashi staring up at her, his favorite book in hand. "Kakashi-sensei!" she cheered as she took a running leap off the tower she was on.

Kakashi quickly saw what was going to happen and rolled aside.

WHAM! CRUNCH!

The talented jōnin looked down at his former(?) student. She had jumped down, probably to hug Kakashi or crush him as revenge for one of the various times he used her as an example of an idiot ninja. Either way, she had fallen so she landed flat on her face, the shingles under her cracked from the impact.

"Are you okay?" he asked, worried that she had finally broken her thick skull. _'That's going to leave a mark... On the roof I mean.'_

Naruko's arms, which had shot straight out the moment of impact, fell to the cracked panels and she levered herself up. "I dink I bwok by nobe," the girl warbled. She gripped her nose, shifted it a bit and a click was heard as she healed. "Kakashi-sensei~ That was so mean! I just wanted to give my favorite sensei a hug!" she pouted as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

Kakashi felt quite bad now. Had he known it was a hug, he'd have braced her fall and accepted it. He knew that the girl was practically starved for attention and affection, and he did sort of view her as a little sister or daughter or niece. Kakashi nervously opened his arms a bit. "Alright, come here," he said as he blushed a bit. Openly reading smut in public: easier than pretending to ignore Guy. Public affection: as impossible as understanding said man.

"Let's go! I have to meet everyone else!" Naruko cheered as she hopped over the edge of the building to land between Hiruzen and Jiraiya. "Sensei! Put your arms down and let's go hit up Ichiraku Ramen!"

Kakashi dropped over the side of the building, landing on the street stiffly. He suddenly felt drained in every way.

"Get used to it," Jiraiya whispered, "she found the joys of toying with people and the pleasure it brings her."

"So her potential is 'S' rank?" Kakashi asked in code.

"Naruko is a kitsune through and through now," Hiruzen stated with a weak nod.

"Sounds like someone is talking from experience," Kakashi said with a bit of a smirk.

The two men sighed. "Naruko keeps pretending to be my poor granddaughter," Jiraiya sadly muttered, remembering all the girls who had been suckered in with her shining eyes and the tears she could make fall at will. He'd been lectured by so many of the women he'd tried to pick up that he almost knew what it would have been like to be married. Naruko could get sympathy from the heartless Orochimaru if she tried.

Hiruzen was happy that Naruko didn't bother with purses and fashion, because he was one hundred percent certain that she could have turned to him with a pleading look and he'd happily drain his bank accounts to appease her, just like his deceased daughter. She was terrifying in that sense!

Naruko stopped dead as her mouth opened wide. "S-S-S-Sakura-chan!" she squeaked.

The girl in question turned and saw a tall, beautiful redhead standing behind her. If it weren't for the eyes and the blush on the young woman's face, Sakura wouldn't have known it was her teammate. "Naruko! You're back!" she cried out as she hugged her best friend, aside from Ino.

Two of the three men smirked at Naruko's sudden stiffening, extremely dark blush and rapidly wagging tail. _'Now I know why she likes to tease people. We're never letting you live this down! This is our (petty) revenge!'_ the two older men thought as Naruko felt a shiver shooting up her spine at the same time her heart threatened to burst out of her chest and into Sakura's arms. That was not how Naruko wanted to give Sakura her heart.

Sakura released Naruko and stepped back to look her over. Naruko had a new hairstyle that took her long hair and held it up with three black clips so it was limply pointed skyward, which resulted in a bit of her hair sticking up to peek over the top of her head from behind it. She had grown it out so it went a bit past her shoulders at the side to frame her face and her bangs were now swept slightly to the right so they didn't fall into her eyes, giving her an adult charm. Her face was also just right, enough femininity to tell you Naruko was a woman, but not too much to ruin her masculine mannerism. It was like looking at the perfect young adult tomboy's face.

Naruko had traded out her dresses for something more her style. She now wore a pair of red khaki shorts that reached to knee level, nearly covering them when she stood up straight, with the hem being silver. Naruko's black shirt had to be short sleeved or no sleeved turtleneck shirt, mainly because Naruko wore a short sleeved jacket with a raised collar. The shirt had a dull red 'IX-III' on the left side of her collar, the bottom hem not quite reaching her khaki shorts and revealing some of Naruko's skin. The jacket was black with a thick red streak up the sides and silver around on the collar. It was open (more like it was too small to be closed! CHA!) and allowed Sakura to see that Naruko was slightly larger than Ino, therefor making her bigger than Sakura too. To finish it off, Naruko had a pair of strange sandals on her feet, they went up half way up to her knee was her just straps holding the footwear to her legs. Now that Sakura had a good look at her, Naruko's skin was soft looking and pale in an attractive way.

"You look better than when I last saw you, what have you been eating?" Sakura asked, some malice showing through. While Sakura had been taking care of herself due to her increased knowledge of health and medicine, resulting in her being able to call herself attractive, Naruko looked like a goddess descended compared to the pinkette.

"Uh, mostly ramen," Naruko admitted. "Well, I also like spicy food and different types of chocolate, I love pocky the most! Want one?" Naruko asked as she pulled out the box, showing she had three left.

"No thanks," Sakura said. She loved chocolate, but she'd already exceeded the monthly limit she had set on herself. She then noticed something. "You're taller than me?" she asked, realizing she had to tilt her head back a bit to look at Naruko's eyes.

Naruko actually seemed surprised. "Ah, you're right," the kitsune said as she wondered who else was shorter than her. Hopefully Kiba was shorter than her, Hana mentioned that he didn't like it when girls were taller than him, made him feel like less of a man. Naruko flipped a pocky out of the box, catching it with her teeth as it came down, then asked Sakura what she had been doing for almost three years.

As the two girls talked, the elder ninja kept back a little. Truthfully, the two deserved some time alone, but there would be matters to discuss soon enough.

"Hime, I was wondering if we could do something important," Jiraiya whispered.

Tsunade blushed hard. "I told you I was drunk and not thinking straight! We are never doing that again!" she hissed.

Now Jiraiya was blushing. "As much as I wish I was talking about that, I have something far more important to ask."

"What?" Tsunade asked. As far as she knew, very few things beat out what the two had done a few months after Dan's death. One of them was getting back at Orochimaru for all he had done to Konoha, to Tsunade. It was widely believed by many that both Dan and Nawaki were killed by Orochimaru, though many figured he sold out their positions rather than doing the deed himself. Well, maybe he did kill Nawaki with his own hands, but not Dan. The snake had been with his teammates at the time, so he couldn't have done it.

Jiraiya put his hands together. "Can we trade students?" he begged.

"Eh?" Tsunade gasped, then jumped when Hiruzen joined in Jiraiya's begging.

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Why? I thought you two wanted to train her yourselves..."

"We did, but something happened soon after we left the village, something I don't need to live through again," Hiruzen said.

Tsunade was worried. Did Naruko assume the form of the Kyūbi? Did she accidentally kill someone? "What did she do?"

Both men looked at each other, then looked at Tsunade with a look of absolute terror. "She hit puberty and had her first period! Practically right out of the gates!" they said at the same time.

"EH!" Tsunade and Kakashi timed it perfectly, just like the perverted old men they were talking with.

"It was so horrible," Jiraiya wailed, remembering all the money he spent on ice cream. He explained of the time his poor bank account hit four digits.

Hiruzen shivered, remembering the time she fired a katon off in pure irritation. "That was a nice and extremely expensive landmark. And the park around it, Kami," he said, shaking his head.

Tsunade and Kakashi looked to the two girls, remembering Sakura's moody times. She had, at one point, been restrained and pulled out of the hospital when Shikamaru directed his favorite word at Sakura one too many times. Ever since that day, he kept his mouth shut when being examined, and he refused to be looked over by Sakura. The pink haired girl had also, at one point, opened a rather large hole in a store's front wall when a visiting merchant mistook her for a 'nice, if a bit effeminate young man.'

_'How terrible can she be compared to that?'_ Tsunade wondered. Suddenly, a cold chill hit her and she wished she never let that thought go through her head. Sometime in the near future, all of Konoha would probably find out how terrible a pissed off kitsune could be.

"It wasn't all bad," Jiraiya said with a smug grin.

"Pervert!" Tsunade snapped as she raised her fist, reducing Jiraiya to a quivering mess on the ground without even touching him.

"Tsunade, stand down," Hiruzen warned as he stood between the two Sannin. When Tsunade lowered her fist, he spoke, "what Jiraiya meant was that he recovered from, and even profited on Naruko's voracious appetite and her ability to consume several dozen pounds of ice cream when she is... irritable."

"How? He buy stock in ice cream or something?" Tsunade asked. She also wondered if 'several dozen pounds of ice cream' was an accurate statement.

"No, I outright bought the company that makes Naruko's favorite brand," Jiraiya said. The kitsune empress literally ate it out of business, so it was quite cheap.

_'He'll turn any bit of misfortune into profit, won't he?'_ Tsunade thought as she remembered his past novels, easily recognizing the main characters being very similar to Tsunade and Jiraiya in their younger days. Beatings included. At least it deviated from reality, since she and the old perv weren't in a relationship.

"Hey nee-chan!"

The five ninja turned to see a brown haired girl with wisps of smoke covering parts of her nude body. Tsunade and Sakura's jaws dropped in horror. Hiruzen blushed slightly, but wondered why he felt some déjà vu from this girl. Jiraiya was happy that someone else knew the jutsu. Naruko needed to become a teacher and spread that jutsu around more.

The girl was engulfed in smoke and replaced with a young boy, one Naruko recognized. "How was that, nee-chan?" Konohamaru asked.

"Konohamaru, you need to stop doing that," Naruko said.

Sakura felt happy, figuring the girl was maturing and had put such a childish jutsu away for good, preferring to actually focus on learning real ninjutsu. How many jutsu could she have learned? She had been gone almost three years, so it had to be a lot of powerful ones.

"Ero-sennin over there forced me to upgrade the jutsu so he could keep writing his pervy books after some civilian police caught him peeping and blacklisted him," Naruko said as she jerked her thumb in the man's direction.

"He did what?" Sakura shouted. He was over fifty years old and he still acted like that? Tsunade had told her that since he was ten years old, he'd been a hardcore pervert. At least Naruko didn't pick up his habits. Sakura turned to give the man a piece of her mind, but...

"You perverted idiot!" Tsunade roared as she uppercut the man, sending him so high into the air that he became a mere sparkle of light. She huffed a few times, then growled. "Dammit, now I'm going to have to fix him again," Sakura swore she heard the woman mention the word 'neuter' under her breath, "Kakashi, get started with them." And she left to go find Jiraiya's landing location. Hiruzen followed, mainly to make sure she really didn't neuter the man.

The silver haired man made it a point to keep his perversion levels to their current low levels. "Alright, the three of us are a team again and we will be going on missions together, but it's different this time. Before, we were teacher and students in Team 7, now, we are equals in Team Kakashi. Of course," Kakashi pulled out a familiar set of bells, "I'll need to see how much you two have improved. Remember, if you don't come at me with the intent to kill, then I don't have to worry about you getting these bells. Ever."

_[Training Ground 3, a few minutes later]_

"Same rules as before. Get the bells from me, no matter what it takes, aside from sacrificing a teammate of course. You have until sun up tomorrow," Kakashi stated.

Naruko looked around at her first real training field. "It feels like... I'm home now," she said with a faint smile.

"Ah, I remember training you kids here, well, training Sakura and Sasuke. You never were one to sit down and listen to a lesson, weren't you Naruko?" he asked as he turned his gaze to his former students, only to get hit by a massive wave of depression. Were they...crying? _'Memo to self: Sasuke is the path to crying women.'_

Snap!

"Eh?" Naruko gasped, seeing her sensei had closed his new book.

Kakashi put the book away. "Time for us to start, though I'll keep reading if you ladies are willing to wait."

"Oh? The beauties before you better than the book?" Naruko asked in a sultry tone.

Sakura turned to Naruko quickly. "B-beauties?" she squeaked. She knew Naruko was talking about herself and Sakura, but was the pink haired girl really a beauty? And that tone, could she have a thing for Kakashi-sensei? "Naruko, do you..."

The redhead smirked, then flung some shuriken and kunai at the shocked man before her. Kakashi recovered, ducked the kunai and lifted his gaze to try and track Naruko so he could retaliate, only to find her gone.

Thud.

Kakashi forcibly dropped onto his stomach, a weight on his back. He peeked over his shoulder to see Naruko sitting on his back, grinning at him wickedly. "You really need to pay attention, s-e-n-s-e-i," the girl teased as she poked at his cheek, "this could have been a kunai."

Kakashi rolled, making Naruko catch herself before she could fall. "Seduction... I really need to be careful since you're a tricky one," Kakashi said as he got up.

"Keep on your toes or I'll make you trip over them," Naruko warned with a predatory grin.

"Actually, I think I'll just keep an eye on you two," Kakashi stated as he uncovered his sharingan, "I'd probably need this anyway, considering who Naruko is as well as who trained you two."

Naruko's grin widened, then she burst into smoke.

"What?" Kakashi started, only to stop when he felt the tip of a kunai to the base of his skull.

"Familiar, ne?" Naruko asked, remembering that Kakashi had done this to her during their original test.

"You got me, sort of. Start!" Kakashi declared, bursting into smoke himself.

Sakura looked around quickly, then remembered who she was dealing with. "Come out!" she shouted as she punched the ground, creating a massive crater filled with rubble.

_'Ts-Ts-Tsunade-sama?! Why'd you teach her that too? She's too much like you now!'_ Kakashi thought as his ambush plan literally blew up in his face.

_'If I screw up... Sakura-chan will kill me,'_ Naruko thought as she imagined herself being hit by that punch, and flying away in pieces. No amount of regeneration could save her from that.

"Well, time to recover my pride," Kakashi said as he started defending and attacking.

_[Five hours later]_

"Haa! Haa! Haa!" Naruko panted as she leaned against Sakura's back, "I just got back, but he's already back to steam rolling us, though he's using jutsu this time."

"You were the only one getting steam rolled before, but I know what you mean," Sakura groaned as she shifted her shoulder painfully, "it's no fair. He's smarter than Shikamaru, tracks better than Kiba, has better eyes than Neji, is faster than Lee-san and hits harder than Choji. He's got to have a weakness."

"Sakura-chan, I think Hinata's eyes are better than Neji's, remember? And Sensei's eyes aren't as good as Neji's," the kitsune said.

"Oh, yeah..." Sakura muttered. Neji's eyes were good, but Hinata had some godly range with her byakugan when she focused them.

"Eyes..." Naruko mused, then realized what she could do, "Sakura-chan! I've got something to teach you!"

_[Fifteen minutes later]_

_'It's quiet... Too quiet for that girl,'_ Kakashi thought, remembering how ten minutes of silence from the kitsune was only possible when she was unconscious, sad or plotting a prank that bordered on Evil, like switching his novel out for Icha Icha Wild, a yaoi parody of Kakashi's usually preferred reading material. He was going to try to take it easy with the sharingan, but he couldn't do that against Naruko. She had grown extremely fast since she left. If she had the ability to use raiton, she'd have the deadliest chidori ever. Well, maybe she could still learn it. He wasn't particularly skilled with suiton, but he could still use them.

Kakashi moved to a new location, wary of Naruko. He didn't know how good her senses were, but he was pretty sure she could smell his sweat at a good distance. He was actually tempted to remove his gloves, forehead protector or vest to leave as a decoy to catch her off guard, but he wouldn't do that.

Naruko and a beet red Sakura caught him before he could finish changing locations. The two girls came straight at him like fresh genin.

"You two are sort of like bulls, always charging from the front," Kakashi stated as he readied himself for any attack.

"We need to be in front of you for this," Naruko said as the two stopped, then she looked at Sakura, "right, Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired girl was now varying shades of crimson, clothes, blush and hair included. "I... Do I have to?"

"I'll help you, Sakura-chan," Naruko said as she clapped a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura was still blushing hard as her hands came together. "I'm never going to do this again..."

"Do what?" Kakashi asked, wondering what she could do with a basic seal.

"**Henge!"** both girls shouted as they were engulfed in smoke.

Kakashi shielded his eyes, thinking they were using the smoke of a transformation to confuse him due to it being pure chakra, effectively blinding him while using his sharingan. "That won't work on m-ehhh!"

Standing before him was an attractive pink haired woman being hugged and gently groped from behind by a smoking hot redhead with a fox tail, both almost naked since their clothes had been moved aside and opened just enough that they were barely covering what needed covering, though the pink haired girl's 'parts' were covered by the redhead's tail, which went between both girls' legs to curl over the pink haired girl's groin. He kept watching as the redhead poked and tickled the pink haired woman, who was leaning back against her the whole time. His mind, while perverted, nearly overloaded when the redhead nipped the pink haired woman's ear, then kissed her neck, sucking hard.

"Wha-wha-what are you two doing?!" Kakashi cried out as he turned away, covering his ears and closing his eyes. Even Kakashi had his limits and that scene was it. He'd need to wash his mask to get rid of the smell of his nosebleed after this.

Someone leaned against his back, resting all their weight on it. He didn't bite, not until something tiny, hard and cold hit the tip of his nose. He opened his eyes, seeing the little bell that had been attached to his belt.

"We win, sensei," Naruko said with a smirk that looked like it was borrowed from Anko. A few moments after that, she was plowed down by Sakura. "Sakura-chan? Why?" Naruko asked as she staggered onto her feet.

Sakura shook hard as she blushed from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes. "Y-y-y-y-you pervert! You were just supposed to hold me up, not touch me like that or k-k-k-k-kiss me!" Sakura shrieked as she held a hand over the kiss mark on her neck. As she said, that was NOT a part of the plan! How would she explain this to her mother? Oh no, her father would turn Naruko into a training log if he found out! Why couldn't medical jutsu heal a hickey?

Naruko plopped down onto her butt. "Sorry, spur of the moment. It came from reading the book, especially in chapter 15 when..." the Kitsune went on, oblivious to Kakashi's horror at having the story spoiled for him. He quickly covered his eyes and ears again, begging Kami to make her stop!

Sakura grew redder and redder as Naruko explained, in great detail, one of Jiraiya's books.

_[Next morning]_

"I don't know about strength, but you definitely became much craftier than before," Kakashi praised. He didn't realize it until later, but Naruko had been talking about the previous book in the series. Seems she got lost in the moment and mixed things up.

"Heh. I'm stronger than you now," Naruko challenged.

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "Don't be so full of yourself. I'm still young and I recently mastered a powerful jutsu."

**GROOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!**

"Ah, I'm hungry," Naruko said as she touched her stomach.

Kakashi and Sakura stared at the girl, wondering if that was her stomach or a lion she had accidentally eaten at some point.

"Hey! How about some ramen?" Naruko asked. She would later be forced to look up the word 'some.'

"I am a bit hungry, especially since I skipped dinner last night," Sakura said.

_'When they were fresh genin, mentioning jutsu to them gave me their undivided attention. They used to be cute,'_ Kakashi thought as he felt like a fifth wheel. _'Hmm, I wonder if this is how Guy feels when I don't acknowledge his ramblings? Not too bad, so why does he always go off like a fireworks storage house during a blaze?'_

"Let's get Sensei to pay for us," Naruko suggested.

"Good idea," Sakura said.

"I just remembered that I have something to do, important jōnin work. Ja ne!" Kakashi hastily said and retreated even faster. His funds wouldn't ever survive Naruko's eating habits, especially if she almost landed Jiraiya in the poor house.

"Coward! Cheapskate!" Naruko shouted, hoping the man heard.

"I agree, saying something stupid like that to run away," Sakura said.

Naruko realized that it was just her and Sakura, alone. "Hey, how about-"

"You treat us to a meal for our victory? Gladly," Sakura said in a firm tone.

Naruko whined as she pulled out Yui-chan, wondering if the cute fox wallet would suffer from this. If it was a date, it wouldn't be that bad.

Sakura noticed two people who would be happy to see the returnee. "Shikamaru! Temari-san! Guess who it is?" she called as she pointed at Naruko.

"Uh, who?" Shikamaru asked, wondering if he knew a woman like this. She was tall, taller than he was, and a little pretty. He felt like he should know her... mainly due to his 'troublesome senses' going wild.

"That's so mean, Shikamaru! It's me, Naruko!" said girl whined as she teared up.

Temari was shocked. The change was incredible, going from a runty tomboy to a tall knockout of a tomboy. Gaara would be shocked enough that he may actually blink!

"Unbelievable how time changes people. Did you just get back?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yesterday, but I had some stuff to do," Naruko said with a real grin. She loved being around her friends and had missed them all while she was gone.

"So, is the change complete or only skin deep?" Shikamaru asked.

"She's still an idiot," Sakura stated, remembering the hickey. She had a bandage on it, claiming a tree branch smacked her neck.

Naruko quickly got over the comment and got closer to Shikamaru. "How's the hot date?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Pure business," the Nara stated in a bored tone.

"I'll date anyone else before this lazy boy," Temari said with a smug grin.

"Oh? Is that an offer?" Naruko asked as she brought her face less than an inch from Temari's. She licked her lips slightly, wanting to see if she could fluster a girl.

Temari shot back, a light blush on her face. "N-no!" She composed herself, though a hint of the blush remained and she wouldn't look straight at Naruko. "There's going to be a chūnin exam soon, I just happened to be chosen as Suna's representative for all the meetings."

"Ah, the exams... Good memories, some bad ones too," Naruko said, remembering her brief moment as a giant snake's lunch.

"So does this news change your plans?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruko looked confused. "Huh? Why would it?"

"It's a chūnin exam. You are the only one out of our class that hasn't become a chūnin yet," Shikamaru said.

Naruko was silent for a moment or two, clearly confused. "What?"

Sakura had a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry Naruko, I'm one too, but that doesn't cha-"

"Baa-chan didn't tell anyone?" Naruko wailed.

Now everyone other than Naruko was confused.

_[Before Naruko's training trip, Hokage Tower]_

"Baa-chan, I need to go say goodbye to everyone before I get going. What's more important than my training?" Naruko asked, feeling almost naked in Anko wear. Who, other than Anko, wore form fitting clothes that were little more than mesh and thin, dark fabric? Oh wait, Naruko did too, against her will.

Tsunade placed something on the desk. "This," she stated.

Naruko picked it up. It was a flak jacket. "What is this for? A disguise?"

Wham!

"Not that, it's befitting of your new rank," Tsunade said.

Naruko took her hands off her lightly smoking head. "New rank?"

Tsunade got into a more authoritative position, meaning she had no paper work yet and could rest her elbows on her desk. "Naruko, as Hokage, I hereby appoint you to the rank of chūnin for your actions during the Uchiha Sasuke retrieval mission. Even though you violated my command by participating in the mission, you did almost bring Uchiha Sasuke back and you enabled the capture an agent of Otogakure. That more than qualifies you to be chūnin, though you'll have to work on your leadership skills if you ever want to be Hokage," the blonde finished with a smirk.

"Just you wait! I'll be taking this job from you sooner than you think!" Naruko declared as she picked up the jacket, put it into her backpack and took off, wanting to get stronger.

_[Now]_

"So you're already..." Shikamaru started, shocked.

"A chūnin?" Temari finished, in awe.

"Since a bit before I left!" Naruko said, pulling open her jacket to show that it had some of the pouches that normally adorned the front of of Konoha flak jacket on the inside of her jacket. "I didn't like the style, so I had this one made instead. Has all the same features, including the swirl on the back, but this looks good on me."

Temari recovered from her earlier embarrassment. "Well, that's nothing. Me and my brother, Kankuro, we're are already jōnin," she boasted. Nobody noticed that Shikamaru had slipped away.

"No way!" Naruko growled, then remembered the third sibling, "what about Gaara?"

Temari had a happy smile on her face. "My little brother is the Sand's Kazekage."

_[Forty minutes later]_

"Ugh, Sakura-chan ditched me," Naruko muttered, feeling sad for herself. Even if it wasn't a date, it would have been awesome to hang around the girl she loved.

"She forgot that she had to go to the hospital one last time today, you'll get your chance," Iruka said, hoping that would raise the girl's spirits.

"And why didn't Baa-chan tell everyone I was a chūnin?" Naruko asked.

"Don't worry about it. She had a lot of adjusting to do, so she probably accidentally forgot," Iruka said, "by the way, did you lose your forehead protector or something?"

"Eh? Oh, that," Naruko said as she reached into her pocket, pulling out the metal plate. Iruka was startled when he saw the deep scar cutting through the leaf symbol.

"What happened to it?" he asked.

Naruko got a solemn look on her face as she traced her hand on the Akatsuki-like slash on the metal. "When me and Sasuke clashed for the final time, my forehead protector got damaged. At first, I thought it was Sasuke's, but his had fallen off long before that," Naruko said, then put it away, "I used it for a while, but the band kept wearing out no matter how much I replaced it, and a slashed forehead protector isn't something just anyone wears, so I just pocketed it. I've got the Leaf symbol on every article of clothing I own, so you can still tell what village I'm from." As if to prove her point, she showed the mark on her jacket's sleeve, the hip sides of her shorts and on the treads of her sandals.

"Sounds like you went through some tough training, but I bet you're strong because of it," Iruka said.

"Yeah, I'm way stronger than you now," the redhead said.

"Don't count me out yet, you brat," Iruka shot back with a light grin.

"But I've got some serious catching up to do, since Gaara's already the Kazekage," Naruko mused.

Iruka sweat dropped. "Yeah, but he's special."

_[After Naruko's meal, an all too familiar bridge]_

"Late!" Naruko shouted, making sure to put a tiny bit of chakra into the shout.

Kakashi remained silent, shocked that her voice alone made his hair blow back slightly instead of throwing him into a wall. "You've... become very good with that since you left. Anyway, I was very busy with some paperwork, so I was late for a good reason this time," Kakashi said. 'Paperwork' equated to flipping pages of his new book, finishing it so Naruko couldn't spoil it for him.

"We're a team again and we need a mission! I haven't had one in almost three years, so pretend to be excited!" Naruko growled.

"Just drop it. The only thing he's interested in is reading his smut, and he doesn't even get all riled up for that either," Sakura stated.

_'Why do I want to go to a corner and disappear now?'_ Kakashi thought for a few moments, then noticed a fast moving bird bee lining for the tower. _'isn't that Suna's Takamaru? This might not be good,'_ he mused as he turned to the tower. "Come on, I think we got a big mission on our hands," Kakashi stated as he got moving.

_[Missions office]_

"Big mission? More like big letdowns!" Naruko shouted at her sensei. It was all genin junk missions.

"Still talking big, ne? Maybe I need to flick your head a few more times," Tsunade grumbled. It was day ten without alcohol and day 1000 something with paperwork. Hokage and chunin exams sucked for the alcohol and gambling loving Hokage, who now called herself the legendary sucker for taking this job.

"No mental development at all, huh?" Iruka sighed, wondering if Tsunade would explode today.

Kakashi just hoped that if Tsunade got angry, it wouldn't be directed at him.

Sakura stomped on Naruko's foot, making the girl drop to the floor. "I'll make sure to control her bad mouth, so think nothing of it," Sakura hastily said. _'You idiot! Tsunade got all the stone needed for her face to be put on the monument...after Konohamaru mouthed off to her! It doesn't matter if you're the Kyūbi, she'll end you!'_

"Hiruzen-sensei would be much better," Naruko muttered.

"...Did you just say something?" Tsunade asked, the room getting much colder.

"She said nothing at all!" Sakura spat out as she put Naruko in a sleeper hold, hoping to the choke the girl out before she incurred the woman's wrath.

"Tsunade-sama! It's terrible!" a woman shouted as she stormed into the room.

"So noisy today, is it Naruko's fault?" Tsunade mused to herself, "what is it?"

"Missing-nin calling themselves 'Akatsuki' have taken the Kazekage!" the woman quickly said.

Everyone felt the change in the room change as Naruko's anger rose, quickly beating out Tsunade's earlier wrath. Her eye color flattened out as black markings, almost like some sort of written language, appeared to form a ring around her pupils. "Akatsuki..." she said, that one word followed by a far too deep growl emanating from deep in her throat. It wasn't annoyance or a playful growl, it was the growl of an animal ready to slaughter.

Tsunade remembered wondering how bad a pissed off Naruko would be and had a feeling that, if she denied the girl this chance to confront Akatsuki, she'd find out how bad it could get. She took a piece of paper and quickly wrote down the details. "Team Kakashi, your new mission is as follows: get to Suna as quickly as possible and send back a report on the situation there. Once that is finished, assist Suna in any way you can. Do you understand?"

"Hai," the three answered.

"Then get going," Tsunade said as she handed the paper over to Kakashi.

The three were gone before she pulled her arm back.

_[Konoha main gate]_

Jiraiya showed up just as Team Kakashi was going to leave. Luckily for him, Tsunade only badly bruised his jaw and cricked his neck, fixing an old ache. He was lucky enough to land in a large tree on his way down. He saw Naruko's slight changes. "Hey, I told you not to do that until you master it!" he sternly said.

Naruko's eyes widened, then the strange script on her irides faded away. "Sorry, Ero-sennin."

"You're stronger now, but Akatsuki is still a serious threat to you. If you feel angry, just cool off as best as you can. We want them captured alive, not crushed out of existence," Jiraiya said.

"I know," Naruko muttered, looking slightly angry at something she was remembering.

"Make sure she doesn't do anything stupider than normal, Kakashi," the sage said.

"You can count on it," Kakashi assured the man.

"Let's get going and save Gaara!" Naruko shouted as she started to run.

"Naruko! Wait up!" Sakura called as she started to run as well.

_[A few hours later]_

"Temari-san!" Sakura called out when she spotted the slightly older girl.

A few minutes later, Temari believed a lot of the old traditions held in many villages due to her premonition after her tea cup cracked. Her little brother, Gaara, had been attacked and captured by some missing-nin.

"It'll take us three days to get to Suna," Kakashi stated.

"Not with me and Temari around," Naruko said.

"What are you talking ab- Hey! What are you doing?!" Sakura shouted as Naruko crouched down in front of her.

"Ride on my back, it'll be faster. Temari, do you think you can carry Kakashi-sensei on your fan?" Naruko asked. It would be easier if Sakura rode with Temari, but Kakashi would probably never live down being carried by a smaller girl.

"Yeah," Temari said as she opened her fan.

Sakura looked worried. "Are you sure about this?"

Naruko looked forward, determination in her eyes. "Yeah, we'll be there in less than two days if we hurry."

Sakura nervously got onto the girl's back, wrapping her arms around Naruko's neck while she got a firm grip with her legs. "Don't get any wrong ideas," Sakura said, unintentionally breathing into Naruko's ear.

Naruko didn't respond, didn't even notice how close her and Sakura were. All that was on her mind was helping her friend. With Sakura holding on, Kakashi and Temari on the giant fan, Naruko tore forward under the trees while the jōnin flew over top of them.

Kakashi was able to track Naruko's progress through the trees, mainly due to her speeding by and making the leaves actually sway as she passed. "Naruko! I think Temari is having trouble keeping up!" he shouted. It was true too.

"I can't stand those bastards, unable to see Gaara, only seeing the beast within. It's like he's just a cheap container, a box for what they really want, not a human being!" Naruko growled, "Temari, I hope you don't hate me for this, but I'm not human. Your brother has the Ichibi sealed inside of him, but I'm not sealed in anybody."

"What?" Temari quietly asked, not understanding what this girl was saying. Not sealed in anyone? What was she talking about?

"I'm the Kyūbi no Yoko, the third one. I'm a Bijū," Naruko admitted, getting ready for rejection and hatred.

_'She's like that...thing inside my brother?'_ Temari wondered. That didn't make sense. The monster inside her brother was mindless murdering intent and power, Naruko was the exact opposite. Naruko was a guardian, one who took up arms for others, much like Gaara had become, and was caring and compassionate enough to try and save someone who clearly didn't want it. There was no way she was the same as the Shukaku.

"Spending years being seen as the creature he is protecting the people from, suffering in silence as he is tormented from the inside and outside. I hate people like that," Naruko said, growling as she barred her teeth in anger, "I'm a monster, but I'm not evil. Gaara has a monster inside of him, but he's human. Both of us suffered, but he got it far worse because nobody ever came to his side. I didn't save him during the exams, I just showed him that he wasn't alone. In a way, he saved me when I truly started to think I couldn't be around humans. It's time I return the favor. Because he became their Kazekage, because he gave his all to protect the people of the sand, I'll forgive them, because he's forgiven them already."

For a few moments there, Temari had been worried about letting Naruko into Suna. Some people still saw Gaara as a monster, so how would Naruko react to them? Hearing Naruko talk of Gaara's suffering let her know that her brother had made a great friend. Hearing Naruko forgive the people of Suna for their past mistakes told Temari that Gaara's first friend was the best he'll have ever made. She only hoped they would be friends for many years to come, not hours or days.

"But Akatsuki, I'll never forgive them," Naruko said as she kicked off a tree root, dooming half the tree to death by forcing her Kyūbi chakra into it. Just thinking about those cloaks made her want to reduce those guys to dust. But she couldn't use that jutsu, so she took a deep breath and forced her anger back.

"Naruko, I'm sorry."

Naruko looked back in shock, seeing Sakura's face extremely close to her own. Was her teammate crying? Why would she cry? And why was she so close?!

"I never noticed how things were for you, and I even made them worse. I'm sorry about all that," Sakura muttered as she hid her face in the back of Naruko's head, hiding her face in the girl's hair.

"It's alright, I forgive you," Naruko said with a smile.

_'You shouldn't though, I was one of the worst ones,'_ a part of Sakura said. "Uchiha Itachi."

Naruko felt a shock of fear and hatred spike through her.

"He's targeting you, isn't he," Sakura said, not really asking, "I went through Tsunade-sama's notes and whatever I could find on him. He's Sasuke-kun's brother, he's also the Akatsuki member that is trying to capture you. Because of that man, Sasuke-kun went to... O-Or... to that man to gain power. All that snake wants him for is a new body, but we still have time to stop him, right?"

"...Yeah," Naruko said, hoping her chakra corrupted Sasuke enough to prevent Orochimaru from taking him over. She didn't want to tell Sakura about what else could happen to Sasuke if they fought again. She wanted Sakura to be happy, even if it was Naruko herself would bring her sadness later.

"If we keep encountering Akatsuki, which that man belonged to, we can get information to save Sasuke-kun and keep you safe," Sakura stated. She wouldn't let anyone harm either of them again.

Naruko nodded, feeling a coldness spread through her from her heart.

_[Suna, day two]_

Temari landed softly on the ground, allowing Kakashi to step off her fan before she closed it up. Naruko crashed onto the ground, having been going too fast. Sakura had seen the imminent impact and released her grip on Naruko early, landing on her feet.

"I told you to slow down," Kakashi stated as the dust cleared.

A Suna kunoichi came out to greet them, showing surprise at Temari's presence as well as the mini-crater with a redhead in it. "Temari and I assume the team from Konoha. Follow me," she said as she turned and led the way. As they walked, Temari was informed of her brother's capture and Kankuro's attempted chase, utter defeat and poisoning. Sakura stepped up within a heartbeat and demanded, not asked, demanded to be brought to him so she could examine him.

They entered the room as someone mentioned that 'relying on other villages is a sign of weakness, a sign that you didn't try to become strong enough to stand on your own.' It was an old woman by the sound of it.

Temari and Sakura were lucky, since they ran in and went straight for Kankuro, saving themselves from the sudden onslaught of the cranky old woman.

"WHITE FANG!" she screamed as she flew at Kakashi, eyes filled with a murderous flame.

Kakashi couldn't react to the sudden attack, but Naruko did because she felt the sudden killing intent. She quickly caught one fist in her hand, taking the second punch to her ribs, using a thin layer of chakra to cushion the blow.

"What are you doing, ancient hag?" Naruko shouted, even as her ribs hurt a bit. Hell, even her hand hurt.

"The White Fang of Konoha... My son's killer... I'll never forgive you," the woman muttered in a low, threatening tone. If looks could kill, Kakashi would be ash in the wind and all memories of the man would die with him.

"Uh, that wasn't me, it was my fa-" he started.

"I know who you are, so stop with the lies!" she roared.

An equally old man stood beside the woman, holding an arm up to halt her. "He does bear a strong resemblance, but he isn't quite him. Look closely," he stated.

The woman made a confused noise as she stared at Kakashi hard, then burst out laughing. "I was just acting senile to keep these Konoha brats on their toes!" she shouted as she laughed.

Everyone except Baki was staring at the woman oddly. While he wouldn't ever admit it with Konoha's ninja in the room, he had been thinking the same thing as her. 'Alliances' were just superficial ties, things meant to be there for show. The previous Kazekage thought the same way, viewing his village's 'connection' to Konoha as nothing more than a deterrent that would make other villages think twice before invading Suna's borders. In the end, if it benefited Suna's people, he would even make a deal with a devil like that rogue Sannin and betray his own friend, the Sandaime Hokage.

_'I figured we'd get a bunch of useless chūnin, but we get the son of Konoha's White Fang as well as their demon weapon. I don't know about the pink haired girl, but I'll keep an eye on that demon child,'_ Baki thought as he examined the team Konoha sent.

Sakura went to treating Kankuro, actually using chakra to pull the poison out of his body. While she was talking with Chiyo, the old bat who tried to attack Kakashi, Naruko looked at her own hands, realizing her ability to manipulate chakra was completely different from Sakura's. She didn't know which was higher end, but Sakura was able to save lives directly with her medical jutsu while Naruko could only destroy with her power, which had the benefit of protecting those who were being attacked by the one Naruko killed. _'Almost three years of training made me deadlier than ever, but Sakura-chan became good at causing and healing injuries...'_ the kitsune thought as she closed her hands tightly, her nails coming close to piercing her palms. Was this the difference between humans and demons? It made her feel less in tune with normal people, with Sakura than ever before. Maybe...maybe she really should give up on the pink haired girl. They couldn't be any more different! Sakura deserved someone she could relate to, not someone like Naruko...

Sakura left to go to a greenhouse so she could put together an antidote to make sure the poison was completely purged, in addition to a way of taking care of future infections by said poison. Naruko... Well, she couldn't settle down and she didn't want to slip into depression, so she was stretching and such, trying to keep the tension in her body so she didn't get too relaxed. "As soon as she's done, we're going!" Naruko declared.

"Naruko, learn to be patient," Kakashi lectured, then turned to Baki, "did the pursuit of Akatsuki bear fruit?"

Baki shook his head. "Only Kankuro followed them. We lost their trail as soon as we found Kankuro..." He truly felt shame in this. To fail two Kazekage in a row, he must be the worst ninja in history.

"Well, if you direct me to where Kankuro was found, I may be able to find their trail and pursue. I'm one of Konoha's more successfully trackers," Kakashi said.

"Don't bother."

The two men turned to see Kankuro forcing himself into a sitting position.

"There are two enemies, the one who got Gaara and another. While I fought the second one, I made Karasu rip his clothes and grab a piece, so there is your trail. Follow that bastard's scent and bring my brother back!" Kankuro spat the last part out, his strength failing him a little.

"As expected of Suna's shinobi, finding a way to make those who follow succeed to finish what you started," Kakashi praised. He had always admired that.

"Kankuro... are you okay?" Temari asked.

"I'm fine. I feel a lot better now," he half lied. It took almost all his strength to stay in a slouched, seated position. He then noticed the red head. "Uzumaki...Naruko?" he asked, hardly believing his eyes.

"Yeah," the girl said.

"Kankuro, are you sure it was Sasori?" Chiyo asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, it was Sasori of the Red Sand."

**A/N~**

**And here it is, chapter 13, AKA Part I's first chapter. I realized that what I was saying earlier is completely wrong. Kyubi's Kit is the one I can read and write at the same time, not Two Demons. The reason for this is Kyubi's Kit lacks any added arcs and such, so it would be faster to focus on this one.**

**Anyway, expect more yuri.**

**Omake~**

**Others' secrets!**

"Naruko, I was wondering something," Sakura said as she, Naruko and Temari walked towards Temari's temporary apartment.

"What?" Naruko asked, happy that she had a new box of pocky.

"When you left, you mentioned other people's secrets. I was wondering if I could hear a few?" Sakura asked, feeling a little mischievous. She owed the Pig for that stunt from before, so maybe Naruko had the ammo! Nothing got under Ino's skin like her being the LAST person to hear juicy gossip.

Naruko thought for a few moments. "Hmm. Well, there's Kiba's secret, Shikamaru's secret and Kakashi-sensei's secret."

Sakura grinned because Kiba had complained about her bedside manner, Shikamaru's defenses were so high up that everything anyone tried just rolled off him and Kakashi needed a weakness for her and Naruko to have some leverage against him. "What's Kiba's secret?"

"Oh, that's easy: he's got a thing for redheads," Naruko said.

"Ho-how did you figure that out?" Sakura asked, feeling worried for the kitsune now. Didn't Naruko realize that she fit Kiba's tastes?

Naruko grinned in a way that would send the Ibiki running to the other side of the world. "After I beat him up, his sister found him in a... certain situation. She told me about it a few months ago when we crossed paths, like how he had a album with a picture of a redheaded shinobi from Kusa and a photo of me during the chūnin exams, all dusty and scruffy from the forest and fighting in the prelims."

Sakura decided that, from now on, someone else could take care of Kiba after he got battered. Technically, Sakura was considered a redhead amongst many men. The fact that he was doing that to a picture of Naruko was just disgusting. And when did Naruko and Kiba's sister become friendly? "What about Kakashi-sensei? What's his secret?"

"You know his books?" Naruko asked, receiving a flat look from Sakura, "well, he isn't reading them sometimes. He hides a smaller book inside them. That book is titled 'how to be a well liked teacher.' Sad thing is, he's too embarrassed to do most of what's in the book."

Sakura felt a little sorry for the man now. He could walk around in broad daylight with a smut novel in his hand, but couldn't bring himself to pat his students on the head or offer some words of encouragement? "Well, let's hear super genius' weakness."

Naruko sighed. "A little before we graduated the academy, I went to his house to pick at his brain before the test. Shikamaru and his mom were out of the house and that left his dad behind. In order to make me stop asking questions, Shikamaru's dad told me where Shikamaru hid his collection of magazines."

Sakura was stunned. "Shikamaru actually does that?"

Naruko shook her head. "Nope, just looks at the pictures. Kind of strange, but who do we know that's normal, other than Ayame-chan and the old man from Ramen Ichiraku?"

Sakura nodded. "Point taken. What was in the books?"

"Well, mostly older women. I read the titles and it was 'naughty onee-chan spoil her brother' and other things like that. Seems that Shikamaru has an older sister complex in spite of not having one," Naruko said.

The two had forgotten that Temari was there, but she heard everything they said as her spirits rose to levels unheard of.

**Qualifications of an onee-san.**

_'Shikamaru likes older sisters! Shikamaru likes older sisters! Shikamaru likes older sisters!'_ the Desert Rose frantically thought as she remained completely calm on the outside as the two Konoha girls started talking about random things.

She was an older sister and now she had a foothold. She would just display those sisterly traits that Shikamaru was attracted to!

Sisterly traits like kindness.

Temari remembered that, as a kid, she taunted Kankuro for wetting the bed, even telling the whole class about it. She also picked on other, plainer girls when they started to try and pick a fight. She also teased Shikamaru about his lack of drive, unwillingness to go up a rank and harped about his laziness.

_'Okay, kindness is out...'_ Temari thought as she moved to the next trait: loving.

Temari had, for the longest time, avoided Gaara out of fear of him, going so far as to only show her love for her little brother in a half-hearted fashion. And then there was Kankuro, who was often insulted and such by Temari for his temper and lack of self-control. Shikamaru was also subject to her pathetic attempts at love. It wasn't a small coincidence that the two of them were working together for the chūnin exams, she had also chosen the post as Suna's representative in Konoha because she wanted to get closer to Shikamaru. Gaara, her clueless-to-love little brother, even warned her not to do anything like getting pregnant with 'the Nara's kid,' as he said. He often wondered how Shikamaru couldn't tell Temari loved him, since even the lazy Nara had to know what a tsundere was. As if Gaara could talk, what with Matsuri ogling him all the time and him thinking she's just spacing out or wondering about the dark marks around his eyes.

Temari held back a sigh. _'Okay, so my skills at loving someone are at the same level as a porcupine's, but at least I'm dependable!'_

Temari was practically assaulted by her INABILITY to be dependable, most prominent of them was her not being there for Gaara until after Naruko beat some sense into him and let him know that he wasn't alone in the world.

"Eh, what's wrong Temari-san? Why are you crying?" Sakura asked.

Temari wiped away the tears. "Nothing, just that I'm old..."

The two Konoha girls didn't know what Temari was going on about.

**Triple the fun, none of the jackass**

"Sasuke, you... GAH!" Sakura shouted as she drove her fist into the bar top, cracking it, "you fucking asshole! I swear that if I see you again tonight, I'll... CHA!"

Naruko carefully sat in a seat out of Sakura's reach. "What happened?"

Sakura looked over to her friend, the one who brought Sasuke back two months ago. In the end, Sakura had chosen to continue pursuing Sasuke, eventually getting the boy to date her, allowing Ino to snare the kitsune empress for herself. She and Sasuke had seen the two female lovers on the dance floors of a few clubs, looking more like they were about to make love right there in the crowd. Truth be told, Sakura sometimes wondered if she had made a mistake choosing Sasuke.

"Sasuke cheated on me," Sakura growled.

Naruko was stunned. She had seen how he acted when around Sakura and figured that he had finally found something to live for, something other than revenge.

Sakura saw the look and took another shot. "Go ahead and laugh. I should have forgotten about the bastard and gone after you, then maybe Ino would be getting wasted while that duck ass was with someone else," she warbled.

Naruko moved to the stool next to Sakura, then started blushing. "S-Sakura-chan! I think you're too drunk..."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Naruko's blush went up a few notches. "You're rubbing my thigh."

Sakura caught herself, taking her hand off the redhead's leg. "S-sorry! It's just...seeing you and Ino 'dancing' is kinda..."

"Um, weird?" Naruko asked. More often than not, they wound up at Ino or Naruko's place soon after that, trying to 'mix' red and blonde. When Inoichi found them one night, he chased a naked Naruko with a kunai while his equally nude princess kept yelling at him to not kill her girlfriend. In the end, Ino's mother threatened to tell all the housewives that Inoichi was more of a pervert than Kakashi since he had all of Jiraiya's works, the books, movies, posters and even a lifetime membership to the Icha Icha fan club. That and she swung a frying pan at him, then threatened not to miss next time if he kept chasing her "cute, future daughter-in-law" around while she was naked.

Sakura blushed, the alcohol removing a few more restraints. "Actually, seeing you two grinding and kissing each other is so fucking hot! I can see why the guys have to go sit down when you two strut into the club!"

Naruko sweat dropped. "Now I know you need to stop drinking..."

Sakura sighed hard, making Naruko wince at the heavy scent of alcohol hitting her nose. "Why should I stop? I'm not fondling you."

Naruko blushed a bit, hoping Ino wasn't around. "Because you, a straight girl, think me and Ino-chan are hot. Straight girls don't think like that."

Sakura chuckled, lust thickening her voice. "I'm starting to think I'm not straight..." Her eyes started undressing her teammate.

Naruko flushed as she backed off slightly. She still liked Sakura, but had respected her wish to be with Sasuke and found happiness with Ino. The blonde heiress wasn't a second prize, Naruko loved Ino just as much as she loved Sakura. The pink haired girl's come on was a little strong, making Naruko feel her heart race.

"Hey there lover," Ino cooed as she looped her arms around Naruko's neck, then leaned in for a kiss. It started out as a normal peck on the lips, but Ino deepened it and both girls were soon moaning quietly into the others mouth as nearby patrons could hear the suction break whenever one of them moved too much, also allowing them to see the two girls' tongue duel. Ino's hands also started moving down from Naruko's shoulders as said kitsune's right hand went to Ino's throat, stroking a sensitive area near her pulse point, nails lightly grazing it.

Sakura had been around her master and Shizune enough to know about different drunk types. Shizune, oddly enough, got feisty and a little aggressive when enough alcohol was in her, resulting in her having full blown arguments with inanimate objects or even her own reflection. Tsunade was a weird mix of an affectionate drunk, a raging drunk and a sad drunk. Mention Orochimaru and she'd be growling and spitting curses. Mention Naruko and you'd have to stop her from hunting the ginger down so she could hug her, admit that she saw the kitsune as a daughter and probably drag the girl off to live in her home. Mention Jiraiya and she'd get depressed, filling her bottle with tears.

Sakura was a much simpler type of drunk. When she hit the alcohol, it all went to her libido.

"Kami, that's... Damn!" Sakura groaned as she watched the two girls in their passionate lip lock. She actually suppressed a moan when the two girls stopped kissing, a string of saliva linking their tongues.

"Ino-chan! Let's try to stay here for longer than ten minutes!" Naruko whined. Ino always wound her up with those kisses.

Ino smirked at her lover. "Why leave? I'm pretty sure the savior of the world can get us in that private VIP room."

Naruko growled deep in her throat, imagining the two of them there while barely any (sound proofed) wall separated them from a whole crowd of people. Damn, Naruko needed to restrain herself!

"Mind if I join in?" Sakura asked.

Ino wrapped her arms around Naruko's neck. "What's this, thinking of trying to hop onto our side of the fence, Sakura?"

"Haven't you heard? All the original members of Team Kakashi, aside from Kakashi-sensei, are all homosexual," Sakura said.

Naruko and Ino gaped at her. "Sasuke was screwing a man?!" they yelped, successfully dooming Sasuke's chances of getting with any other women.

Sakura snickered. "More like letting the guy do him."

Ino paled, though she was not entirely shocked at that. In her experience, prideful people who had others constantly working for them enjoyed being dominated in the bed, much like Ino herself. She absolutely loved it when Naruko held her down and went to town on her responsive, restrained body. "You sure you're a lesbian?"

To answer her, Sakura leaned forward and gave the kitsune a heated kiss, actually making the kitsune a bit tipsy from sensory overload and the sake still on the medic's lips.

Ino couldn't believe that Sakura, the girl who decided her feelings for Naruko had been sisterly, was currently making out with that very same 'sister.' And people thought the vixen and heiress were a hot item, there was borderline incest going on here!

Sakura broke the kiss, smiling slightly. "So, think you can wait ten minutes?"

Naruko's deep, lust filled growl escaped her throat as she grabbed both girls' waists and escorted them out of the club, leaving a trail of men being forced to sit down.

_[Three very fun hours later]_

Sasuke stumbled into Sakura's apartment, completely plastered. He knew Sakura hated it when he was drunk, since he was easily depressed and, embarrassingly enough, couldn't perform at all. They were total opposites when drunk.

But he wasn't here for fun, he was going to apologize to his girlfriend for his moment of indiscretion and hope to repair their relationship. He kinda got charmed by the man, who seemed to realize that Sasuke wanted to be out of control sometimes, to have someone force their will upon him. Now that he knew of that side of himself, maybe Sakura could 'take charge' every once in a while.

Sasuke pushed open the door to her room. "Listen Saku-" He stopped dead when he saw her bed.

Naruko, his and the world's savior as well as the next Hokage. Ino, the up and coming Hokage's official girlfriend. Sakura, Sasuke's girlfriend and one of the most proficient medics in the world. All of them, naked, in bed together, twisted up in sweaty, torn sheets and each other.

For the first time ever, Sasuke felt a perverted thought well up in his mind as his performance issue solved itself.

"Nnn. Sasuke? Is that you?" Sakura asked as she got up off Naruko's stomach, rubbing her eyes.

"Sakura... I'm sorry about what happened earlier, I was wrong," Sasuke managed.

Sakura sighed. "It's alright, I kinda figured it wouldn't last too long anyway," she said.

Sasuke realized he was going to be single soon, so he went for broke. "Um, how about one last time? For the road?" he asked as he dropped his pants, "maybe with Naruko and Ino too?"

_[Hospital, next day]_

"What happened to Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. He had been told that Sasuke had been rendered unable to go on missions for the next while due to an injury. Well, that just meant more time with Naruko, another avid reader of Icha Icha. Sasuke was boring because he hardly ever made mistakes, and he snored like a fog horn sometimes.

"Oh, Sakura smashed it," the nurse stated.

"It?" Kakashi asked.

The woman pointed to Kakashi's groin. "It."

Every man in the room winced and held their genitals. "Why?" Kakashi asked.

The nurse giggled a bit. "She dumped him and hooked up with Yamanaka-san and Uzumaki-san. Sasuke caught them in bed and attempted to join in."

Kakashi lasted about half a minute, then he fell back as a nosebleed downed him, his head filled with images of his female students and the Yamanaka girl with each other.

The nurse sighed. "We got another acute blood loss patient here! Don't touch the mask!" she called.

**Responses-**

**Anyone who reviewed, but I didn't respond to:** I'm sorry, but there are so many reviews that I just kinda went: "okay, I responded to all these, so I'll just stop answering the reviews and post the damn chapter!" I figure I've been gone long enough for a few more "he's dead" thoughts. Though my e-mail account is temporarily dead. (Damn Microsoft and their BS, over the top captcha which rarely, if ever, works properly. Why do they have to make their own, barely functional versions of things that already exist?)

**Wolfone10:** I know you aren't here yet, but allow me to clear up lots of confusion for you. The nine-tails is NOT immortal, is NOT all powerful, does NOT have limitless chakra and is FAR from the strongest. The nine-tails could barely destroy the Hokage mountain, while the ten-tails could create continents or erase them with ease. While Naruko is the nine-tails, she has absolutely no idea how to use her powers, making her little more than a 'human' with incredible chakra reserves and a high healing rate.

As to why he could mark Naruko, her demonic chakra was very weak at the time, only making him use more chakra than normal to mark her. If she had her tail active, he would have died from trying to mark her. As for why he's so 'OP,' that's how he was in Part I, before Kishi chopped his power in half so Assuke could easily defeat him. And if that 'ningen' is unbelievable, do know that even the nine-tails is wary of Madara, a bloody Uchiha whose mental maturity stopped around four years old, just like all Uchiha.

**NaruHina fan:** The story this one was spawned from involved a Naruto/Kyūbi-chan fusion and I only wished to unlock the yuri harem potential that the EroSlacker's girlfriend suppressed. I admire the man, in spite of him being a little bit whipped, so I came up with my own method of doing things. Overall, my Naruko is less story breaking, such as not summoning up a monsoon to render Gaara as harmless as a newborn kitten. Someone who is or was fused with the Kyūbi would be far more violent, more likely to combat rather than disabling an opponent.

As for the pairing, I'm still in doubt. I can make it much larger, mainly due to adding a few more girls due to what I call the 'Excele Narutoverse basics' which are things I make present in all my fics. One of them is Sakura's parents, another being Tenten as an orphan as well as losing interest in Neji. These are things I always put into my story, the first concept being Naruto's graduation age being 13 while everyone else is 12, which makes all things fit properly. (Naruto failing three times while Sasuke never failed in spite of always being in Naruto's class = FAIL) The concepts are to make canon make more sense by filling in those city sized plot holes Kishimoto never filled in.

As I was saying before, I can add more girls to it. I was thinking of Hinata, mainly because I want the girl to get a little loving from a canine ninja who knows what a bath is, Tenten, since Neji is a bit of an ass. Ayame is a good choice as well. Shizune would be good, but not for this fic. Hana would never be considered for this fic, though it would be funny for Kiba to learn that his fantasy girl (Naruko) is hooking up with his nightmare inducing sister (Hana).

I'll toss up a poll or something. I still need to read forward, so there is still time to bury Naruko under lots of girls.

**arawn tsumaki:** Continuing, though I took a bit of time off due to various events and illnesses. I am working on beating Borderlands as the hunter (I'm a CQC sniper), I've been watching MarbleHornets and related Slender man ARGs, and I've also been on the hunt for good, ongoing harem stories, which can only be found on AFF and YourFanfiction (which is closing down soon) so I know I'm not alone, which I am. FF seems to be filling up with more NaruHina and SasuSaku writers now that all the greats appear to have vacated the site. I see no hope in 'Naruto the Gilgamesh' going on anymore, since it is quite violent and gory with a nice threesome of Naruto/Sakura/Ino, which sucks because it is so damn good! If this keeps up, I'll become the best harem writer because I'll be the only one left! (I have a story similar to Naruto the Gilgamesh, though it is currently a NaruFOCSakuIno fic)

**KTlovesmoney:** I'm not done with that friendship yet. As you read in the omake, Naruko is still talking with Hana and learning of Kiba's 'activities' when he's off duty.

**Yuri-Hime-Chan:** I forgot where I got that line from, but I find myself wanting to use it all the time for upbeat characters like Ino.

I also see that you like YoruichiXSuì-Fēng. I personally don't see it, since they seem more like an older sister and her little sister, but to each their own. BTW, am I the only one who sees that a bit of Hiyori's appearance seems to have have crawled into Suì-Fēng's post time skip appearance?

**Dragonsatan:** Thanks.

**Harlequin320:** Things are hard, especially when you completely alter one character. Finally got it worked out, hope it doesn't seem too over the top.

**CloudMage23:** I'm guessing you like the 'weakness' omake. I was thinking of using that for a fic, but I wanted to see if people found Gynaphobe Sasuke funny.

**Ladygoddess8:** Yeah, that was part of the intent with that tail. That tail is only one piece of what lures Sakura to Naruko. Part of it is jealousy.

**Irish Shift:** And here it is.

**Raito671:** First of all, any time is the time to voice your opinion. Those who hesitate tend to regret it later on in life. That nagging feeling that you should keep your mouth shut is something you should ignore sometimes. Trust me, there are lots of things I should have said, but never did.

My style never really got me tremendous marks in school. I write how I see it in my head, which results in grammar errors due to how chaotic my mind is. I've never been one for set rules, since it just seems to slow me down and restrict me. As for spelling errors, I'm thinking I'll go over the chapters later, fix them up a bit, then post the fixed chapters at a later date. My writing style is constantly evolving and some of the older chapters are in an outdated style I don't really use anymore.

As I wrote in a response last chapter, they are confused over liking a girl now and, as far as we can see, the Narutoverse has a stigma to same sex couples. Also, do remember that Sakura has been all happy and proud of Naruto one minutes, then beating him half to death the next. For Sakura, mood swings are canon, as is her punch strength.

I've read stories where Naruto and the Kyūbi, normally female, have a family bond. Hell, I have an idea for one myself. I decided to completely shatter how the Kyūbi was and made it so he had a kid, which later gave birth to our ramen snarfing ninja/kitsune. As for his 'evil' being noble, far from it. You'll see later, his reasons weren't good at all.

**MangaObsession:** Updated, but it was slow.

**DarkLordK:** Yeah, I'm still alive.

I decided, since I threatened Jiraiya's manhood and such, he'd get a nice treat at the end. Here's a good question for you though: who was Tama's first love?

**Nidaime Otokage:** As you can see, she is still the same old steel headed moron we all know and love, just with female parts and a tail.

**ShadowCub:** Hmm, not right away. I am going to kill him, but it won't be till later on.

**WolfDragonGod:** Originally, I was going to have Ino jump off the gate to get to Naruko, but Shikamaru just happened to be nearby and doing nothing at all, so I made him do some work.

Shikamaru: ...Troublesome dirty blond...

Hey! Don't go telling people my hair color! Besides, I only got streaks of pale blond left now! Go back to necking with Temari or I'll make her hook up with Naruko!

Shikamaru: ...I'm staying, so hook them up.

**SuperNeos2:** I kind of stole the concept of a perv HDD from a manga with unrelated siblings who love each other, but I figured that Jiraiya already had one. As for Sakura, she's still stuck in 'Sasuke-baka mode,' so she's just going to stand there like an idiot until it clicks, then the fur and buttons will go flying, maybe some mesh and chest wrappings too...

**BrilliantTeazer:** And my writing is still evolving. I always take my time when it comes to writing, its just my own version of 'my own time.' (look up the term: S.O.O.N) Trust me, the rough chapters look very scary, then I beta my own work and it looks less like a war zone, more like no man's land, then it gets cleaned up a bit more and you get decent chapters.

**Gaara king of sand:** Thanks for the tip on AFC stories, but it doesn't seem to work with Firefox and I'm unwilling to use Chrome, because it is craptacular, and IE, since it might as well be a virus. I'm actually thinking of .

I don't know about other people, but the originals of every chapter are stored on my computer. I do that so I don't have to pop open a browser every time I want to work on or fix my stories and such.

**Ddcj1990:** Ino has the qualities to be a chūnin, since she knows the best way to use her teammate's jutsu to achieve her mission... of making out with Naruko. XD

**Chm01:** Hmm, figured that tail would rub some people the wrong way. Well- (shoved aside)

Pre-time skip Naruko: How do you think I feel!? It's part of me! Hyaa! It tickles when it rubs my legs!

**Sky Zephyrus:** (Excele is currently dressed like Kakashi) Well, I got lost on the road of life...

Team 7 + Sky Zephyrus: LATE!

...Anyway, I'm happy this is your favorite yuri story. And yes, this chapter is post time-skip.

Hmm, let me check out this girl and her outfit. I haven't actually watched anime in about 2 years (shame on me, a Canadian Otaku-ish person!) so I've never heard of Aquarion Evol.

(googles it. Switches to images)

…

…

News caster: And in other news, fanfic writer Excele Kurokami, dressed as Hatake Kakashi of Naruto for some odd reason, was found dead at his keyboard today. Cause of death was explosive loss of blood through the nose. He left a dying message, which was revealed after the blood had been wiped off his monitor. It said: "totally worth it!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Only for foes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruko or anything I write about that you can find in the Naruto manga. If it ain't there, I probably thought it up all by myself! (or read it somewhere else...)**

_**Note: I'm releasing this as is for now, I'll touch it up a bit later after I run my final check and then up the semi-final version later. (final versions of chapters will be posted at an as of yet unknown date in the future)**_

Team Kakashi and Chiyo had been rushing to get to where the two Akatsuki had gone, only to find another in their way.

"Itachi!" Naruko growled. This guy seemed to trail misery in his wake.

"The Kin Slayer, Uchiha Itachi," Chiyo muttered.

"Kakashi-san, Naruko-kun, it has been too long since we last met," Itachi greeted.

Sakura was nervous, mainly because this was her first time facing down a sharingan. She had read numerous accounts from victims of genjutsu delivered by those eyes, none of them pretty. There was probably very little Sakura could do if anyone was caught in one, aside from use some of her chakra in an attempt to break them free of it.

Some chakra, almost like a watery flame, started coming from Naruko's wrists as her irides changed, a strange script-like ring circling her slit pupils like they were pseudo-sharingan. "First Sasuke, then me, what's next? Before you have a chance to destroy more lives, I'll make sure you rot in prison!" she shouted.

"Avoid eye contact! He's dangerous!" Kakashi commanded.

"H-How do we fight if we don't look at his face?" Sakura asked, finding it extremely difficult to keep her eyes down. She only just realized that she normally looked at her opponent's face during a fight.

"Figure out his movements from his feet and hands. The sharingan is capable of casting anyone who makes eye contact with them into a very potent genjutsu," Kakashi explained.

"Since we outnumber him, we should be able to defeat him if we can get someone behind him, or we could break each other out of genjutsu if we get caught," Chiyo said, "that's how I dealt with them in the past."

"No, that won't work at all because Itachi has achieved the mangekyō sharingan, which possesses a genjutsu that is so powerful that only an Uchiha with mangekyō sharingan or an extremely proficient medic can break you free," Kakashi said.

"Such a troublesome foe," Chiyo grumbled.

"Tsukuyomi... It's not something that is easy to forget, is it?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "True, but seeing you falter after using that jutsu didn't escape my notice either," Kakashi said. Well, it was the last thing he saw before falling into a temporary coma. "Then again, it does affect more than your chakra levels. Tell me, Itachi, how hard is it to read?"

"...So even an implant can get them," Itachi mused.

"This time, I'm ready for you," Kakashi stated as he opened his sharingan, making sure to keep it trained on Itachi's sharingan.

"Last time we met, I couldn't do anything other than watch. This time, it will be different," Naruko warned as her chakra started spiking.

Sakura visibly paled as she felt Naruko's chakra rise and rise and rise. The girl clearly had more chakra than their sensei, but that was to be expected. Knowing and actually feeling it were two separate things, which was what Sakura learned at that moment. It almost felt like Sakura was staring down a tidal wave of chakra, one that could wipe out Konoha.

"Leave him to me Naruko," Kakashi said.

"I'm not hiding or running anymore! If he wants me, he'll have to break all my limbs before I go with him! And that includes my tail!" Naruko shouted.

Kakashi looked to the girl. "What I meant was you are my backup. Remember what Chiyo said? Two on one will make this so much easier. I'll need your help on this one."

"Naruko-kun, resisting and running will just add to the dead. Come with me and I can guarantee that these three will survive," Itachi said as he held his hand out for Naruko to take.

Kakashi flashed forward. "I'm your opponent!"

Itachi caught Kakashi's punch and his eyes widened as Naruko started walking towards him. "How?" he asked.

Naruko locked gazes with him, her eyes not clouded by the fear of meeting a sharingan. "Genjutsu is all about manipulating the victim's chakra, same with sharingan genjutsu. If **I** can't properly control this monstrous chakra, what makes you think **you** can?" To avoid genjutsu, Naruko literally learned to let her chakra go wild while releasing some of it. No mortal, human or demon, can control a hurricane.

"So avoiding his eyes doesn't work," Kakashi stated as he broke the lock with Itachi, falling back to where Naruko was.

_'So she's synchronized with the Kyūbi enough that it will break her free of genjutsu when she gets caught. Or maybe it just makes it nigh impossible for her to get caught in the first place. Nobody has ever managed to tame the Kyūbi, so we don't know how to deal with its jinchūriki if they are fully empowered,'_ Itachi thought. "Then I guess I'll kill them and take you with me," Itachi said as he went through the seals. **"Gōkakyū no jutsu!"**

Everyone dodged the technique and settled in a scattered formation, making further use of the jutsu a waste of chakra.

"Kakashi-sensei! Think you can hold him for a while?" Naruko asked.

"Hmm, probably a minute or two, why?" Kakashi asked.

Naruko stood with her feet apart, right hand straight down while her left held the right's elbow. "I need a bit of time for this. I know Ero-sennin told me not to draw attention to myself, but it'd be better to cripple or kill him rather than lose Gaara! That and it will mean one less member of Akatsuki to deal with!"

Kakashi paled. _'Did she just say __she was going to __cripple or__ kill __him__? Either way, I don't want to be anywhere near __Itachi__ when she attacks.'_ he thought, then sighed, "I'll do my best, just hurry it up." He got no response as the girl focused, her chakra twisting this way and that way, everyone present actually feeling the chakra's movements without trying to.

_'This feeling... Is she also a jinchūriki?'_ Chiyo thought, recognizing the feeling from all the Shukaku jinchūriki that came before Gaara, as well as the young man himself. But this, this was much greater.

"Well, looks like I'll be your opponent for the time being," Kakashi said as he stared the Uchiha down.

Itachi remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Either way, this will help in the long run. I eliminate you here, it will be that much easier capturing Naruko-kun later."

Kakashi drew kunai and shuriken. He swept his left hand in an arc before himself, releasing the small throwing weapons at Itachi. The Uchiha jumped over them, only to find that Kakashi had thrown a second set from his right hand. "Trivial," Itachi muttered as he caught a kunai, then swung it down, deflecting the projectiles headed directly for him.

"Got you!" Kakashi shouted as he swung his leg down, having used the strategy Naruko used against Zabuza back in Wave to get behind Itachi. He scored a hit on the Uchiha, but Itachi had already put an arm in the way and suffered minimal damage from the blow. Kakashi landed a small distance from Itachi, putting himself between the man and the teens.

"This is a waste of time. Stand aside Kakashi, allow me to take her back with me. It will be easier in the long run. After all, Konoha doesn't even want her around," Itachi offered.

"You're not taking her anywhere, right, Naruko?" Kakashi asked.

Itachi started turning around as he heard the rushing footsteps, but it was too late to dodge.

Naruko drove the orb of chakra into Itachi's chest, pulsating and bursting as a twister of purple chakra roughly shoved Itachi backwards. The man flew back, slamming into a steep slope, passing through it and leaving a fissure as he kept going, his body acting like an improvised wedge as the twister-like chakra plume pushed him forward, tearing the rock wall apart in its wake. He finally settled after going through almost fifteen feet of earth and the chakra dissipated.

"**Basutā Rasengan,"** Naruko stated.

_'Th-that's why she refused to go full force against Kakashi-sensei. She'd have killed him if she did,'_ Sakura thought as she surveyed the damage the rasengan had caused. It was obvious that Naruko's power wasn't something she could use in a sparring match. Even though the power was so fearsome, Sakura found herself incredibly impressed by it too. Sakura, even with the style of taijutsu she used, couldn't cause this much damage with a single attack.

"This...isn't Itachi," Kakashi said after standing up, having finished checking the corpse.

Naruko ran over. "What? Did he kawarimi with someone else?"

Kakashi shook his head as the old woman and Sakura walked up to them to see the corpse. "There was no time for it. This is who we've been fighting this whole time. I knew something was off."

"A jutsu?" Sakura wondered aloud.

Chiyo looked at the man. "So this is where you've been..."

"Do you know this man?" Kakashi asked.

"This is Yūra, a Suna Jōnin," Chiyo supplied.

"He's from your village... Could he have been a spy?" Sakura asked.

Chiyo shook her head. "He's been a dedicated ninja for four years now. He vastly improved our defenses, trained students and I do believe I've heard of him being seen in the company of a civilian woman. No spy would go that deep." It was true. For a spy, less ties and less of a 'footprint' meant it was easier to slip away when you were done. To bog yourself down in such a way was stupid.

"Was it a henge?" Naruko asked.

"No, his chakra was just like Itachi's, as was his fighting style and his use of ninjutsu. The jutsu used is much more than a simple henge," Kakashi analyzed, then realized what had just happened, "we must move. This guy was obviously sent to slow us down so Akatsuki could finish doing something to Gaara."

Chiyo was in deep thought. "Could they be thinking of making a new, completely loyal Ichibi jinchūriki?"

"What's a jinchūriki?" Sakura asked, never having heard the word before.

Chiyo took a deep breath. "The bijū are nearly unstoppable monsters with chakra reserves that far exceed that of any human alive. Every country wanted them for military might, so they created the 'Jinchūriki,' a control unit for the bijū that the countries could use."

"But aren't they uncontrollable?" Sakura asked, remembering old stories of the Kyūbi. Well, Naruko was a different kind of uncontrollable...

Chiyo nodded. "The beast isn't able to be directly controlled, but the jinchūriki, the humans they were sealed into could be manipulated with ease. With the beast sealed into a human body, that unfathomable power could be harnessed. Gaara is one of them, one of the nine jinchūriki. The Ichibi has been sealed into three people so far, Gaara being the third."

"So they've fought in wars before?" Sakura asked.

"Of course. Military might, remember?" Chiyo answered with a question of her own.

Sakura thought of Naruko. She was a bijū, so what if Akatsuki found her and attempted to seal her into one of their pawns? Would that mean Naruko ceased to exist, or would she be forced to lend her strength to Akatsuki for whatever they wanted?

"Can a bijū be removed from a jinchūriki?" the pink haired medic asked, just so she'd be able to help her friend out if need be.

"Hmm, probably. If you were to apply fūinjutsu of equal or greater power to the original seal on the jinchūriki, it could force the beast free, but the cost is high," the woman said.

It hit Sakura like a ton of bricks. If Naruko were ever sealed, she'd have to...

"The jinchūriki would definitely die after the unsealing. It happened with the two before Gaara, so it's probably like that with them all," Chiyo finished.

Naruko had a decent idea of what was going through Sakura's head. "Sakura-chan, we'll get to Gaara before anything happens."

Sakura looked at the girl that she hoped she wouldn't have to kill to protect, not in the way Chiyo described. "Baka, that's-"

"Let's go," Naruko announced as she started to walk away, leaving Sakura to stare at her back and tear up, trying to imagine what was going through the kitsune's head.

_[A day later]_

Team Kakashi arrived, Naruko fuming with anger and her steadily roughening chakra. "A simple show of strength won't cause a five seal barrier to move, Guy," Kakashi said as the group came to a complete halt.

"Kakashi, you're unyouthfully late, but that's just another aspect of your infinite coolness," Guy said.

"Well, there was a small bit of trouble getting here," Kakashi confessed.

"Kakashi, am I that 'small bit of trouble?' I better not be," Chiyo warned.

"Naruko! Sakura-san!" Lee called out.

"Hey guys!" Naruko greeted.

"...Naruko..." Neji cautiously greeted. What was going on with her? It was sort of like when they fought during the chūnin exams, but far greater. He also recognized the anger in her eyes, it was the same anger he'd seen in Tenten's eyes when Guy and Lee tried to switch her spare clothes with one of their jumpsuits. She had nearly killed the two of them eight times that day.

"One step ahead of us, as usual," Sakura commented. Team Guy was one of the fastest teams in Konoha.

"Who is this old woman?" Tenten asked.

"Assistance from Suna," Kakashi quickly said.

"So... How do we deal with this barrier?" Guy asked.

Kakashi explained the barrier's functions and method of removal and Neji found the remaining tags. Guy suggested that his team go ahead due to their speed. When the signal came, Kakashi ripped the tag free and Sakura reduced the bolder into much smaller stones. Upon entering the cave, they found the two Akatsuki members and Gaara, who was far too still. There was also a large clay bird behind them, the same one that had been used to capture Gaara.

"Which one is the Kyūbi?" a blond asked. He was sitting on Gaara.

Naruko was fuming. "Get away from him..." she growled, her chakra spiking again.

"Her," a huge, but hunched man stated.

"Yeah, she's definitely Itachi's target. Uzumaki Naruko, the Kyūbi jinchūriki," the blond grunted.

_'Kyūbi jinchūriki?,'_ Chiyo thought, looking at a girl who didn't act anything like a jinchūriki.

"Gaara, you can't sleep! Get on your feet, Kazekage!" Naruko snapped.

"Naruko, stop..." Kakashi said, "it's sad to admit-"

"Corpses don't wake up, idiot," the blond said.

Naruko's right wrist seemingly detonated, a chakra flame almost the size of her forearm blazing from her wrist. "I'll take him back after I kill you!" she roared, her eyes glowing with her rage. Sakura shivered, remembering when the girl lost it during the chūnin exams. She didn't know that it had been a temporary symptom of the curse seal, one that would never reappear. Naruko would get angry, but she'd never go psychotic and attack her friends again.

Kakashi got in the way, though he didn't really want to get between a pissed off Kyūbi and her prey. "Naruko, calm yourself. Even with your power, you'll need a plan or else they'll kill you."

"I'll handle this," the hunched man said, "the fox wants this one."

"Master Sasori, I know that you'll be angry with me for this, but I'm going to take care of her," the blond said.

The hunched man, Sasori, looked at the teen. "Deidara, don't push it too far. Our mission was this jinchūriki, not that one. Kisame and Itachi will handle her. We just need to escape with our lives intact."

"I need strong inspirations for my art, Master Sasori. You, as an artist, should understand me. Kyūbi, the strongest bijū and her host, should allow me to make a masterpiece!" the blond, Deidara exclaimed. It was quite obvious that Akatsuki had yet to learn of Tsurenai's death, or of Naruko being a bijū.

"Those blasts aren't art. Art is timeless, eternal," Sasori said.

Deidara looked offended. "Both of us put in the same effort, and I do admire you, but art is spontaneous, instant and lasts but a few moments!"

"Is this how Akatsuki is?" Sakura asked, seeing the two as bickering school kids rather than dangerous missing-nin. The image was spoiled by the fact that these two weren't completely ignoring a number of strong opponents, letting the young medic know that these two were not the type to underestimate foes in spite of their...eccentric behaviors. They were aware of their foes, but saw them to be as threatening as a ham sandwich.

Naruko growled as she rushed forward. "Don't look down on me!" she snapped, jabbing her hand forward as it was wrapped in chakra. A second, smaller clay bird suddenly appeared, taking Naruko's blow and holding her still.

"Master Sasori, you know I'm right about this. Art only lasts a moment!" the blond insisted.

"Ungrateful bastard. Art is eternal, a masterpiece that lasts throughout the ages, Your 'art' is just a flash in the pan, there and forgotten a moment later. It's nothing more than a lit fart!" Sasori shot back.

Deidara got off Gaara. "My art, real art, is explosions. No pun intended, but they are far flashier than that little puppet show you do. Years from now, people will speak of my attempt to bomb Suna while nobody will remember anything you and your oversized DOLLS did!"

Sasori decided words were useless and attempted to stab his partner with his tail, but he missed and Deidara took Gaara and his bird away.

"Not today, master!" Deidara called as he flew out of the cave.

Naruko roared as she tore her arm free of the clay construct, her anger rising as the original clay bird swallowed Gaara's body. She went after the thing, wanting to tear it and its rider to pieces.

"Naruko!" Kakashi called after the pursuing kitsune, then cursed her impatience. He told Sakura and Chiyo to hold the puppet master of Akatsuki in place until Team Guy could arrive. Of course, he learned that said team was pinned down by a trap that had been sprung after they released the seal on their ends.

_'This just isn't my day,'_ the jōnin thought as he shifted his forehead protector aside, opening the sharingan that lay below it.

"Sharingan Kakashi! You gonna fight me, eh?" Deidara asked. "Well, ya lucked out because Master is stronger than me."

"Sensei, go back to the cave and assist Sakura-chan and the old lady," Naruko half ordered.

In spite of Naruko being the fourth last woman he'd ever want to piss off, Kakashi stayed.

Naruko launched herself at Deidara, clawing the small bird bombs apart as they came at her. He quickly shot away from her, but she sprung off a branch and slammed her chakra covered hand into the wall behind him as he shifted away. He quickly decided that had been a good thing, since she decimated quite a bit of the cliff face when some chakra pulsed into it. The quick bird bomb he made, which was the size of the one he was currently on, was destroyed early by Kakashi's shuriken. It had been a basic, contact bomb anyway.

"I'm taking Gaara back!" Naruko growled, the chakra starting to spread out on her arm. As it stood, everything beyond her right shoulder was wrapped in red chakra that ended in a large claw with wicked talons.

"Strange... All jinchūriki hate humans, but you don't. Of course, the Ichibi was odd too. Why is it that you two are different? Nah, I don't really care..." Deidara thought aloud, "the two beaten by the others were never supported by their allies. Now that I think about it, those villages probably would have gladly handed their jinchūriki over. Hmm, could it be that you two became 'friends' because you're both pitiful, abandoned monsters? But the Ichibi is ours now and his human shell is dead. Don't worry, you'll be the same soon enough."

Naruko's chakra formed a giant shuriken. "Dodge this!"

And dodge it Deidara did, then flew away on his bird. Naruko gave chase, her right arm's chakra tearing deep into the cliff as she ran on all fours.

"Naruko! Don't..." and Kakashi gave up, knowing that he was wasting his breath. He'd have to just do his best to stay as close to the girl as possible. They made it to an area filled with tree roots that connected the two cliffs together and they watched as Deidara remained out of range, moving around at random to avoid getting hit by her various chakra weapons.

Kakashi grabbed Naruko, avoiding areas that would result in slapping, as he moved them to a spot out of what Kakashi decided was a 'dead range,' the range where Deidara's clay bombs couldn't be avoided due to their speed. "I'm here now, so calm down and let's think of a way to kick his ass," Kakashi said. "Naruko, listen to me now. You're a melee type, and even though you can form chakra into weapons, you're not used to it and Deidara is a master of ranged combat. There are two ways to deal with a long range expert. The first is one you'd like."

"What's that?" Naruko asked.

"Drag him down and beat the life out of him. The other is to hit him with a long range attack that will put him down for good," Kakashi said.

"But I've been making the weapons on instinct. Now that I've cooled my head...I can't do it anymore," Naruko admitted. She had tried to make that spear she had used on Gaara before, but it evaded her. Even the shuriken and kunai she'd made before were lost to her. She'd have to talk with Tama and the others to learn how to do this.

"To cover that weakness, you need either a long range expert or someone with a powerful ranged technique on your team," Kakashi said.

Naruko frowned. "And you are which one?"

"Both," Kakashi said.

"Get to blasting him then!" Naruko shouted. Ah, why didn't she roar at this blond freak before, it would have really messed him up. Oh yeah, it would hit Gaara too.

"Naruko, while I do have a good ranged jutsu, I need a good opening to use it. I'll need you to create that opening while I prepare the jutsu. Now, here's what we'll do." Kakashi then explained his plan.

A couple minutes later, Deidara was feeling anxious. According to Kisame and Itachi, Naruko was like a wild animal and would keep yiping and scratching at him, but she'd been too quiet and had only attacked sparingly, and with real weapons too, not those chakra constructs she had been using. The weapons were still charged with the Kyūbi's chakra, so they were dangerous.

He could see that the two were down there, talking about something too. It looked like Sharingan Kakashi was trying to pull off some jutsu, but it seemed he was overestimating himself since nothing had happened in almost five minutes.

All of a sudden, a strong wave of chakra hit Deidara as the air seemed to distort. _'Wha- Katon? But there's no heat!'_ he thought. When it started to focus on his heart, he knew he had to move. He also saw a new pattern on Kakashi's eye. _'He's got a mangekyō too!?'_ Deidara started to painfully drag himself out of range, but found himself stuck, his arm caught in the twisting space. With a noise Deidara hoped to never hear again, and incredible pain, the jutsu was completed and his arm was severed through the bicep. To make matters worse, it started again! It was easier this time, seeing as how Kakashi was winded from the first shot. He realized that Naruko's calm assault had been a way of distracting him, but he didn't count on one thing.

"**Rasengan!"** Naruko roared from right next to the bird.

Deidara cut his loses to one arm and jumped off the bird as the ball of chakra tore through its body. With the bird rendered useless, a few clones were made to gently catch it. Deidara had forgotten that Naruko was unpredictable and used kage bunshin like she breathed.

"Sensei, you okay?" Naruko asked as she went to the panting man, her clones taking the bird apart to get at Gaara.

Deidara was suffering and nearly useless too. Kakashi and his sharingan were similar in nature to Itachi's, but that damn Kyūbi jinchūriki was a problem too. Why didn't Kisame and Itachi tell him about those chakra constructs, or her ability.

"I'm not done with you yet," Naruko warned.

"Some other time, perhaps," Deidara shot back.

"Same mistake I made," Kakashi muttered.

Deidara found himself on the end of Naruko's chakra coated fist, receiving bad burns to his cheek in the process. Without a moment's pause, Naruko created a clone for each of Deidara's limbs, the chakra cloak strengthened arms holding him in place as the real one came down, claw cocked back.

BAM!

Deidara registered pain and the splintered earth beneath his body, as well as Naruko's arm going back up.

CRUNCH!

Again.

CRACK!

Again.

SNAP!

This went on for a few moments, Kakashi realizing that Deidara may develop a fear of women after this, if he lived of course.

Naruko decided her fist had done enough and formed a rasengan, then drove it into the man's chest, or she thought it was the man. Deidara had, probably after getting punched the first time, substituted away and left a clay clone to take the beating for him.

Naruko's rage grew, her hair and tail starting to brighten till they looked like flames. Kakashi was shocked to see chakra flaring from her other wrist. Within a few moments, Naruko was wrapped in a solid, fox shaped shroud, shredding up the clay clone as two chakra tails joined her single proper tail.

Naruko's clone, the one near Kakashi, started to waver. The chakra Naruko was releasing had paralyzed her own clones, or at least the chakra they were constructed from.

As much as Kakashi wanted to cancel this power of Naruko's, he couldn't. There was no way to disrupt it and, according to Jiraiya, she needed these moments. Naruko possessed the power of her grandfather and mother, the power of demonic beast and humanoid demon respectively, they needed to find a form unique to Naruko, a stability that would serve them both. These times of power, of almost wild anger for her foes, were the times when the powers searched the hardest to find peace and form.

Naruko growled and slammed her tails down, breaking the ground and sending a few small fragments into the air. She dug her nails into the ground, chakra digging a shallow trench. With her temporary appetite for destruction sated, the cloak started to fade until it was just covering her right arm again. Her hair and tail returned to normal coloring again as well.

Sakura showed up with a very worn out looking Chiyo. "We're here, what can we do to help?" she asked. They had completely missed Naruko's little moment.

"You found us?" Kakashi asked.

"Following a trail of destruction is easy," Sakura said.

"Having trouble? A medic and an old woman finished quicker than you did, what does that say?" Chiyo asked.

"Sakura-chan, is that guy dead?" Naruko asked while looking a little tired.

The two nodded. "What of Gaara?" Chiyo asked, then followed Naruko's gaze to a tree branch with four clones and the remains of a clay bird, which they threw away to reveal Gaara, "that is good, you got him back."

"And who do we have here?"

Kakashi and Naruko quickly followed the voice, finding Team Guy facing down a wounded Deidara. Tenten tried to skewer him, but the man's expertise in long range combat was greater than hers, and that was in spite of him missing an arm.

Seeing as how his options were limited, Deidara ran over to his torn clay bird and swallowed a large chunk of it as Team Guy and Naruko showed up.

"Now, I'M the masterpiece!" Deidara shouted as his body started to expand.

"Run! He's going to detonate his entire body!" Neji warned, making all of the assembled ninja jump away, though Naruko stopped near her team, wanting to help them get going as well. Kakashi was dragging his feet, and at a time like this no less!

FWOOOM!

Surprisingly, only a weak shock wave hit everyone, a wave of smoke being the only thing that swept by them. They all watched as some of the smoke was swallowed up into a small point.

Guy smiled at his eternal rival. _'Leaving it to the last moment, just how cool and hip do you have to be?'_

"Wh-what just happened?" Sakura asked, shocked that she wasn't dead and scattered all over the forest.

Kakashi fell back, worn out because of his mangekyō sharingan as well as multiple uses of his jutsu. "I sent him and that blast into another dimension with my new jutsu," Kakashi said, "is everyone okay?"

"Everyone but Gaara," Naruko said as her clones brought the Kazekage down to ground level.

A few minutes later, outside of the forest, Gaara was lain down while Sakura lay her hands on him.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruko asked, hoping those bastards had been lying.

Sakura shook her head, not detecting any life signs at all. They had saved a corpse.

"He didn't deserve this..." Naruko growled.

"Calm yourself, Uzumaki Naruko," Chiyo said.

"Shut up! Do you know what it's like to be labeled a monster, to be hated by everyone around you? Everything that has happened to Gaara is your generation's fault! It is your fault he was hated, feared and killed! You treat jinchūriki as tools, but they have feelings, which you completely ignored! The real monsters are people like you, the ones who make jinchūriki!" Naruko shouted, then broke down, "what have I been doing for three years? I thought I grew stronger, but it still means nothing at all if I can't save anyone!" She hit the ground, her somewhat wild chakra making a very small crater on impact.

Chiyo stepped up to the youth that she had forced a monster into before his birth and placed her hands onto his chest, then focused her chakra as she started to give her life to bring him back.

"Chi... Chiyo-sama! Is that?" Sakura asked. She remembered the chakra sensation from before.

The woman nodded as she kept it up.

"What's going on?" Naruko asked.

"She's bringing Gaara back to life," Sakura said.

Naruko was shocked. "She can do that?"

"Only she can, nobody else," Sakura quietly muttered.

Chiyo felt her chakra start to fail, along with the jutsu. She needed more-

"Chakra! Do you need more chakra? Can mine be used?" Naruko asked.

"Place your hands over mine," Chiyo instructed. She felt the heated chakra flow into Gaara, surprise appearing on her face. "Naruko, I'm glad to have met you. My life is full of mistakes, the world us older generation created is a mess that we forced onto you younger ones. But the future is looking bright because of people like you and Gaara. Kakashi said you had power, and I now see it for myself. No Hokage, past or future, will reshape the world as much as you will."

"Sakura! Don't go saving old hags in the future, protect what is most important to you next time. Throwing it away for someone like me is a waste of that spirit that can match any man's. You may not be a sannin, but your master's ability will pale compared to your own in the future," Chiyo said as she looked back at the young woman.

With that said, and the jutsu nearly complete, she looked back to Naruko. "Naruko, you understand the pain of being different, of being scorned. I ask you to look over Gaara, as his friend, as the future Hokage, and...as someone who also knows the same loneliness," she requested, whispering something at the end that Naruko couldn't pick up.

Naruko noticed the sleepless sand ninja was starting to wake up, so she propped him up and waited for his eyes to open. "Gaara, good morning. How was the nap?"

"Naruko? What?" he asked as he looked around, seeing many sand shinobi about, many hiding their tear streaked faces.

"They all came here for you, though they're all too late to do anything useful," she said, saying the last part a little hard to sting all the late comers. "You had all of us worrying way too much, you troublesome Kazekage." On the inside, she shrieked. _'Did I just quote Shikamaru? __It's a disease!__'_

"You can say that again. I know big brother's are supposed to worry, but I felt like I was going to go bald," Kankurō said.

"Gaara is still the Kazekage and we are still in the Land of Wind, so I'd be careful or else he could punish you, slave 1 and 2," Temari said, pointing to Kankurō and then Naruko as she labeled them her slaves.

"No wonder Shikamaru has no interest in her," Naruko mumbled.

"What was that, Slave 2?" Temari growled, reaching for her fan.

"N-Nothing!" Naruko chirped.

_'She's even whipped her fellow woman. Nee-chan is scaaaary!'_ Kankurō thought.

Temari shoved Naruko aside a bit so she had a clearer view of her brother. "How do you feel, Gaara?"

Gaara tried to get up, but it felt like he'd been still for years. Was this how it was to sleep? Maybe he hadn't missed out on too much...

"No you don't! As your big sister, I'm locking you up behind the desk for the next little while!" Temari commanded.

"Kazekage-sama... I thought we really lost him!" a man sniffled as he wiped his snot dripping nose on his sleeve.

"Don't be such an idiot! Gaara-ku- Gaara-sama is an awesome ninja. He's a good looking, quiet and kind man who would never be taken down in such a pathetic way," a brown haired girl, Matsuri praised. _'I almost called him Gaara-kun!'_ she thought with a mental squeal and a real blush.

"And his shy and blushing face, while rare, is so cute~" another girl, Sari cooed.

"Gaara-sama!" the two shouted as every male in the way, and Naruko, were shoved aside or trampled to get to the Kazekage. They started promising that they would save him next time.

"I should be used to this by now, but I'm not all that popular, am I?" Naruko grumbled, rubbing the fingers Sari had just ground under her heel. Even if she could heal quickly, it didn't mean she felt no pain!

"Don't worry about it. One day in the future, they'll wonder where all the good guys, and girls, are. Us hard working grunts are where the action is and they won't know it until it's too late," Kankurō said, hoping he'd be married when that happened. There could be no worse irony than being there, single, when the girls came looking for the good lovers. It'd be downright pathetic.

"Must be true, since Shikamaru said it too, though he used the word 'troublesome' a lot," Naruko grumbled. Would Sakura be like that too?

"Thanks for being there for my little brother," Kankurō said.

"Thank that old lady and her medical ninjutsu," Naruko said as she looked to the old woman. She went to say something, but her clashing chakra briefly quieted and she could feel all the chakra around her clearly, but none came from Chiyo. "I-Is she..."

Sakura nodded, knowing what Naruko was asking. "To bring Gaara back to life, she had to give hers up."

Kankurō explained the original reason the jutsu was created, as well as why it was sealed away.

"I expect that stupid laugh of hers to hit my ears, but that's all over now. I only wish I had been there to say goodbye," Ebizō said as he looked at his sister's face, "she looks like she's sleeping." Sakura nodded in agreement.

"I knew you could change people, but you even got Chiyo-obaa-sama to change," Temari said while looking at the redheaded idiot ninja. She quietly muttered, "maybe she can help me get Shikamaru's interest..."

"What was that about Shikamaru?" Naruko asked, having barely heard it.

Temari blushed and shoved the kitsune away. "F-Forget that you heard that!"

Naruko scratched at her head. _'Chiyo was like the Sandaime. Now I think I know what those two felt.'_ She sat with her legs and arms crossed, trying to think of a way to tackle her other problem: her lack of popularity. Unknown to her, thinking deeply made her tail swish from side to side, solving her problem a bit.

_'I-I want to touch it!'_ Temari, Sari, Matsuri and Sakura thought, the first three forgetting about the Kazekage while the last was just fixated on the swaying red tail that looked soft and fluffy in spite of its scruffiness. It was like moths to the flame, no pun intended.

Gaara stood, ignoring the other people's concern. "Let us all pray for Chiyo...obaa-sama."

_[A few days later]_

Naruko looked down at the grave that had been made for Chiyo and concentrated a bit, chakra flickering from her wrist and into a steady flame. She focused again and it slid down her fingers, forming a small claw that was more like a glove. Naruko laid her hand on the top of the stone, leaving a slight burn mark in the shape of her hand. It was her permanent thanks, since Naruko was now able to call upon this concentrated chakra thanks to Chiyo. Ever since she felt that life restoring jutsu pass through her hands, she knew how to use this power.

_'Loss tempers strength,'_ Naruko thought as she closed her hand into a fist, spreading the cloak over her entire arm, letting it reach its normal size. She hoped to learn in a better way in the future, or else she'd lose everything and everyone.

"Sakura-san, Naruko. Its time to go," Lee called.

Sakura let her hand ghost over the grave, her hand running over the warm hand print her teammate left behind. She thanked Chiyo and walked away from the grave.

"See ya later," Kankurō said.

Temari smiled. "Good luck."

"Uh, yeah..." Naruko mumbled, then noticed Gaara was silent. She reached out with her right hand, then noticed the chakra still coated it. "Uh, I- um... I-I'm no good at this. I should at least stop th-"

Gaara reached out to her, his sand pulling her chakra coated hand to his. Their hands met, one with chakra wrapped around it and the other with sand lazily swirling about it. Naruko felt how Gaara wanted to be for his people, kind and soft, even his sand felt that way as it whirled around her wrist. Gaara felt the heat and power of Naruko's chakra, but it was like that of a parent or a strong, caring guardian.

_[An hour later]_

"This might go faster if we got the old men some canes or walkers!" Tenten shouted. While she was normally polite, the heat and the few injuries she still had were making her cranky. Memo to self: get lighter clothes for Suna. Better yet, get clothes for all possible seasons and weather types. Use a few storage scrolls for clothes rather than a few dozen kunai...

Kakashi went to apologize for his weakness, but Guy turned around and put Kakashi into a piggyback so disturbing that Tenten and Naruko wondered if they'd need therapy to recover from the sight.

"Hahahaha! Catch up to us now!" Guy shouted as he blasted his way to Konoha. Kakashi's face screamed, 'kill me now!'

_'Too much male bonding for me,'_ Sakura thought.

"Neji!" Lee called out, prepared to do the same with his rival.

"No! Never! Stay away from me!" the normally calm Neji shouted as he backed up, then ran away to get home as quickly as possible.

Lee pursued his rival, still in the piggyback ready position, leaving all the women behind.

_'I definitely need therapy now,'_ Naruko and Tenten thought.

Sakura decided that she would never understand male bonding, not that she wanted to anymore. Too disturbing...

_[Back at Konoha, a few days later]_

Naruko listened to the whole conversation between Tsunade and her two apprentices. Shizune's lack of faith hurt, but she could see where the woman was coming from. Didn't mean the empress had to like it. Sakura not defending her hurt even more, but what could she say at this point? She was outclassed by both women in every way imaginable, aside from how long she knew Naruko.

"What do you have to say Naruko?" Tsunade asked.

"I'll find someone," Naruko said, not surprised that she had been found out. She jumped away, on the hunt for someone she knew.

She was going to go look for Guy's team when someone called out to her.

"Uzumaki Naruko, good to see you again," a hooded guy said.

Naruko sniffed the air, since there wasn't enough face to even attempt to guess his identity, but she didn't recognize the confusing smell coming from the almost completely covered youth. "Uh, who're you?"

"It's me," the guy said.

"Who..." Naruko muttered back but stopped. This was going nowhere fast.

"You are going to hurt my feelings, Naruko. Just because we haven't seen each other in almost three years doesn't mean you can forget my face," the guy said.

Naruko was going to ask what he meant, but then she heard a buzzing and saw a bug land on his hand, then crawl up his sleeve. "You- You're Shino?"

"Finally recognized me?" he asked, confirming the girl's beliefs on his identity.

"How can anyone recognize you when you're all covered up?!" Naruko shouted back.

"Shino! Way too early!"

A gigantic dog and a wild teen landed nearby. Naruko instantly recognized him and the smell of the animal. "Kiba! Akamaru!"

The moment Kiba saw her, he blushed hard. "Na-Naruko?!" he squeaked as his heart battered away at his ribs. _'She's way hotter than when she left. __Need to ask Ami to snap some new pics of Naruko.__'_ Sometimes, it was nice knowing a ninja photographer.

"Please tell me that you used a jutsu to make appear Akamaru bigger..." Naruko deadpanned.

Kiba broke out of his little daydream and looked at his partner. "H-Huh? Oh, you think Akamaru is big? Hmm, I don't see it..."

"He used to ride on your head and now two people can ride on his back!" Naruko shouted, giving Kiba a good fantasy, "you thinks so too, right Shino?"

Shino was silent, sad because a friend of his hadn't recognized his face.

"What did you do to him?" Kiba asked, then blushed when he noticed that he was almost touching Naruko.

The kitsune's ear twitched a slight bit as she caught a very discreet noise. She turned and figured she had a good idea of where the noise came from, so she made her way to it as quietly as she could.

Hinata was the source of the noise and she was trying to calm herself down. She had thought that she got over her embarrassment a few months ago, but she wasn't prepared for Naruko's new beauty.

Naruko's face swung down before the blushing heiress, her hair hanging down like a red curtain as she locked eyes with Hinata. "Hi!" she brightly greeted from two inches away.

Hinata went down faster than a person hit in the neck with an elephant tranquilizing senbon, becoming a heap of blushing flesh.

"...Why'd Hinata pass out?" Kiba wondered aloud when he got there. She always seemed to faint around Naruko for some reason.

Naruko was still on the wall, crouching down like a dog. "I know, right? She's always-"

Thud.

Kiba was down as well, blood streaming from his nose for the view his new crush had accidentally given him. He'd seen _them_ a bit, through the leg of her shorts.

"What's wrong with these two?" Naruko shouted.

"You recognized Hinata right away as well..." Shino grumbled.

_'The whole team is weird...'_ Naruko thought as she walked away along the top of the wall.

A few minutes later, while on the hunt for Shikamaru, Naruko cursed her luck. Team Guy had gone out on a mission and Team Kurenai was on their way out to one. That left Team 10, er, Asuma.

She hoped Ino wasn't crazy this time... That prank was still bugging Naruko. _'Why'd she have to k-k-kiss me, __and in front of Sakura-chan too__?'_ Naruko thought as a light blush crossed her cheeks. Jiraiya and Hiruzen relentlessly teased her and, somehow, Ero-sennin managed to record the whole thing with a video camera!

"...I know you're stupid, but I thought that at least your memory was good..." Shikamaru grumbled after Naruko plead her case.

"They're still going on?!" Naruko wailed. They only lasted a little over a month last time, with most of it being a break too! Couldn't they spare the slacker for a week or so? Not like the amount of work getting done would change much, unless Shikamaru wasn't a slacker when it came to paperwork.

"Why did you have to bring back a woman to be Hokage? Now I get nagged at home, nagged at work and then nagged on the field," Shikamaru complained.

"I can help you."

The two turned to see Choji walking up, a bag of chips in one hand and a lunch box in the other. "Shikamaru, your mom told me to give you this," he said as he held up the lunch box.

"You're a life saver!" Naruko cheered. If he hadn't come by, she'd have to go look for (gulp) Ino.

"Choji, your mission with Ino and Asuma-sensei..." Shikamaru said.

"I'm sure I can get him to understand," Choji tried.

"Then you'll meet the Hokage and the whip will crack," Shikamaru finished.

"Alright, I guess I'll find someone else, though I don't know who," Naruko muttered, then saw Choji was doing his usual, "still eating?"

"You're one to talk, slurping almost two gallons of ramen on your first day back. Where did you put it all?" Choji shot back.

The happy moment was gone as Naruko's eyes became slitted, that strange ring of script-like, hardened red appearing on her purple irides again. She growled as she shoved the two away, chakra forming on her now lengthened tail to make a blade. She spun, slashing with her now bladed tail, destroying a lion made of ink. **"****O ha,"** she growled as the lion fell apart, her tail ready to strike again.

Naruko started to ask who would attack her and her friends, but noticed a second one coming at her, leaving her with no time to bring her tail around to destroy it.

Choji reached out and crushed the lion's neck.

"There he is," Shikamaru stated as he gestured towards a youth a good distance away on a roof.

"He's wearing our forehead protector, but that doesn't mean too much," Naruko growled, memories of Kabuto and Itachi in her head.

"He needs to answer for attacking us," Shikamaru said, "Naruko, you have a great balance of speed and power, so you go get him while I cover you."

Naruko nodded and rushed forward, summoning a ninjatō she had been given soon after leaving the village three years ago. She had been taught how to use it a bit, though she preferred her fists. Her tail blade broke apart as the tail itself returned to its regular length. No need for killing, this jerk was needed for questioning.

A bunch of those lions leapt off the scroll before the youth, coming down on Naruko with fangs and claws.

"Down!" Shikamaru ordered. "**Kage Nui no Jutsu,"** the shadow user stated as he 'killed' the lions, giving Naruko a clear path.

Naruko jumped up and swung her blade down, not too surprised when it was stopped by a tantō.

"Who are you?" Naruko demanded.

The youth smiled. "Here I thought you were just a milk tank kunoichi, but I guess you got some skill."

"N-Name!" Naruko shouted as she tried to force her weapon forward. What were 'milk tanks' anyway? Jiraiya seemed to love them, always saying how they were the pinnacle of womanhood, in his pervy eyes at least, but he never explained anything about them.

The youth saw Shikamaru's sneak attack and left before he could get caught. "See you soon, Naruko-san..." And he vanished in a swirl of ink.

Naruko growled, then jumped down from the roof. Her anger had been harder to control lately. Kami, she hoped her own true powers would emerge soon or she'd explode! She sent her blade back since she didn't need it anymore.

Naruko almost made it to Team Asuma.

"Narukoi!" Ino cried out as she tackled Naruko with a tight hug around the neck, one that pushed her chest into Naruko's, "I heard you were back. I wanted to welcome you back before I left on my mission."

"I-I-I-I-INO!?" Naruko stuttered. She was still keeping the prank going?

Ino put a finger to Naruko's lips as her face lay a few inches from the kitsune's. "No Narukoi, it's 'Ino-chan' now!" the blonde ordered.

"Oh, 'Ino-chan?' Isn't 'Ino-pig' better?" Sakura growled as she glared at the blonde. _'Why am I getting so pissed off? It's just Naruko...'_

Ino shot a glare back at her former rival in both ninjutsu and love, now just ninjutsu. "What's the matter, Forehead, feeling jealous?"

"Why would I feel jealous?" Sakura asked.

Ino grinned in a way that would make the devil crap himself in fear. "I don't know, maybe because I can do this with MY soon-to-be girlfriend?" Ino wondered aloud, then kissed Naruko again, putting all her feelings and passion for her partner into it. It was the hot type of kiss that would have men cheering the girls on. She got a bit too heated, making beginner mistakes in her kiss, but she just felt so damn right with the redhead! Jiraiya's 'gold mine' detector blew to pieces and he was miles away!

Choji and Sakura blushed hard, though Choji turned away as his nose started to bleed. Shikamaru silently cheered Ino on, hoping to get rid of a nagging woman that was on his back all the time. If this worked, he'd just need to find a way to silence his mother and Temari. Stopping the Hokage's nagging was a fantasy that would never happen, maybe his mother's silence was a fantasy as well, but at least he could get rid of Temari and Ino's attempts to lord over him.

Ino broke the kiss, smiling and blushing as she rested her forehead against Naruko's, panting a bit from how heated she got during the kiss. "What's the matter... Forehead... wish the kitsune got your tongue too?" Ino asked, glancing at the pink haired, red faced girl from the corner of her eye.

"G-G-G-G-Girls shouldn't be doing that with each other!" Sakura shouted as she remained as red as physically possible without exploding.

Ino leaned her head into the hollow of Naruko's neck, gently resting her chin on the kitsune's chest, making a number of nearby guys wish they were Naruko, even if meant being female. "Love doesn't see gender, it just sees what it wants. I love her, I want her, I will make her mine and I'll be hers too," Ino purred as her hand trailed down to Naruko's side, going to her hip. She even lay a light kiss on the side of Naruko's neck.

_'Damn you, Uzumaki Naruko! I want that action too!'_ a number of men thought as tears of blood ran down their cheeks from their eyes... and from their noses too.

"Mi-Mission! Both our teams have missions!" Sakura shouted, grabbed Naruko's arm and dragged her away from Ino.

Ino giggled. She kicked herself a bit, since her father trying to convince her that her feelings for Naruko were just a passing phase that she'd grow out of, but seeing the girl again, feeling her heart speed up, the swarm of butterflies in her stomach and the feeling that she wanted to be with the kitsune (in a way that would make this fic R-rated) made Ino decide that, before the year was up, Naruko would be her lover. The blonde knew that she'd probably have to use a bit of the knowledge she'd heard about a year ago, something concerning kitsune.

Next time Ino saw Naruko, she'd pet that cute red tail and become the kitsune's mate, lover and wife!

Naruko remained red and silent, her mind overloaded by the kiss.

**A/N~**

Finally finished this chapter! (fanfare) Alright, I can now focus on this fic because I've completed all I can with KTD for now, so I can see how everything plays out and plan where KTD's new mini-arcs will be. (or at least plan where to put the events that take place before Pain's attack) While on that subject, the Basutā Rasengan was originally created for KTD, though it is used differently in this fic.

Hope you liked the NarukoXIno moment, Kiba pulling a Hinata and Sakura showing off her tsun-tsun side. Those were fun!

And sorry for the long wait, but the manga was going in a pathetic direction for a while (written 'Naruto,' but read as 'Sasuke') but now it seems to be headed in a decent direction again. Just seeing Sasuke 180 and Sakura return to super fan girl mode pissed me off and made me not want to write because Kishimoto was favoring Sasuke again. (seriously, Sasuke has far more luck than Naruto from what I've read, getting saved from death twice against Killer B, suddenly having enough chakra to do numerous chakra intensive things when he had no chakra left, surviving against all the kage, etc.) But now it seems that Sasuke is still an evil little shit and Sakura might be planning on killing him to prevent his plan to take the ninja world apart, which seems to be why Orochimaru is so interested in seeing what Sasuke does on his own, has made the manga interesting again. Now if only it would tilt towards a NaruSaku end...

**Jutsu Index-**

**Basutā Rasengan** [Buster Rasengan] – Naruko overcharges the rasengan to the point where it is nearly unstable, and weakens a spot at the 'front.' She does this at the moment of impact, causing the thin forward shell to rupture and smash pure spiraling chakra into the opponent, which violently pushes them backwards with enough force to put them through a couple walls, or a decent amount of rock. Derived from how she first saw the rasengan, and an accident.

**O ha** [Tail Blade] – By applying shape transformation to chakra expelled from her tail, Naruko can form a scimitar-like blade on the her tail to give her another weapon in battle. The only drawback is the short reach, which is only a foot beyond the tip of her tail at best.

**Tail Extension:** Naruko's tail length is variable. Her normal tail length, which is how it is most of the time, is a 'compacted' form of the tail. Her real tail length is long enough that she could gently curl her tail over head, keeping it a distance from her body, and point the tip of the tail towards her mouth so she can form a tailed beast ball or to use it as a weapon with some reach. (see how Kurama fires tailed beast balls) Her tail can also be used as a shield, though it'd be more effective with multiple tails.

**Omake~**

**Drunkeness**

"And here we are, at Konoha's first ever 'Konoha Sake Drink-off,' an event I decided to throw to see how people in Naruto act when toasted," I, Excele Kurokami announce as I perform a sweeping motion with my hand, light dancing off the silver claws (my dream weaver spindles) that I wear on my hands. "Now, a few people had to be forcibly removed because their drunken personalities were-"

"Let me go! Naruko! I've got a room for you! You can have a real home and a real family!" Tsunade shouts as she tries to break past various OCs I've created, such as Kazeneko Yue from KTD and her mirror version, Ashmedai Yue from NC, an as of yet unposted fic. They manage to shove her out the door and seal off her chakra with some chains I made for them.

"As one can see, Tsunade would have automatically taken Naruko away, thus ruining part of the presentation. Also, don't mind the red blouse or the boots, we managed to remove Sakura before her clothes were completely removed, though she did demand we send Naruko and Ino over as soon as we could manage," I state.

"Narukoi~" Ino purrs as she kisses Naruko's neck, making sure the girl feels every curve of her body, every pulse of heat, as she sat in the kitsune's lap, "let's go and p-l-a-y~"

I sigh. "As you can see, Ino gets flirty when her blood alcohol level is high. Luckily enough, she seems to direct it at her girlfriend. As for Naruko..."

The girl was completely toasted, leaving her as a slightly wobbly, blushing mess. "Everything's very... warm!" she exclaimed, "Ino-chan... You're so beautiful." She leans in and kisses Ino, then her hand goes up the mind walker's hip, under her skirt, to cup Ino's ass to pull her into a deeper kiss as the blonde shifts positions so she straddles her girlfriend. Naruko's other hand finds its way under Ino's shirt.

"Shit! OCs!" I command as a few more appear and escort them over to the soundproofed bedroom, where Sakura, free of her clothes, drags the two girls in and their fun commences. Ino's skirt still lies outside the door.

"Hmm, seems Naruko is similar to both her girlfriends when drunk. She gets randy and puts the moves on them. I wonder if she's as focused as them, or does she go wild?" I wonder.

"More! More!" Anko cheers as she sloshes her drink around.

"Anko is a happy drunk. Who could have seen that one coming?" I ask the crowd.

Crash!

"And she seems to have left through a window to find a bar... Wait, this one is open and free, so why is so leaving?" I ask.

Ibiki pokes my shoulder, his fiftieth mug in his hand. "She's gone off to get her lock picking set."

"Why would she get that? And why aren't you drunk after all that alcohol?" I ask the torture master, though I could easily break him by forcing him to read all of the Twilight series and force him to watch the movies as well.

"Well, I don't get drunk off this weak crap. Anko wants a piece of Naruko, so she's going to need to unlatch the window to join in," he said, then went back to his seat to drink more.

I stare at the man as he guzzles two more mugs, looking like he wasn't going to slow down at all for a while. I motion over a server. "Switch his drinks to that strong rum, see if that doesn't affect him."

"Yes sir." The server then makes his way to the table to get the really strong stuff.

I smirk at my own evil. "Now, onto-"

"Shut up, you iziot..."

I turn to my verbal attacker, shocked to find Hyūga Hinata giving me a death glare through her heavy blush. "Hinata-san, what's wrong?" I ask, stunned into politeness.

She grabs a full bottle and tilts it so it is straight up, all the sake draining into her throat. She puts it down and returns to glaring at me. "Becuz of you, that slut Sakura and bitch Ino are touching my girl... And now Anko is too!"

"Um, I think I need to-" I start.

"I want to kiss, hug, fondle and lick her too!" Hinata screams as she throws the bottle at me, though I briefly faze out of existence before it hits me, "becuz of all you 'NaruSaku,' 'NaruIno' and 'NawuInoSaku' bastards, I never get my Naruto-kun or Nawuko-chawn!"

I throw the door open, letting everyone hear Ino crying out in bliss. "You can join them too!" I shout, trying to save my own ass.

An OC grabs the drunken Hyūga and tosses her in. "I'm not paid enough for this..."

"Naruko-chan! I love you!" Hinata shouts as everyone hears clothing tear.

I slam the door shut. "Hinata is a mean spirited drunk..."

"Open that door again!" Tenten shouts, "they sounded happy~"

I stare at the blushing girl, wondering what the hell is happening there. "Um, draw your own conclusions on her if you will, but I think Tenten is a bit of a..." checks the internet real quick, "a voyeur when drunk. And I'm not opening the door again."

Tenten shrugs and walks over to the door, leaning against it while trying to listen. "I can't hear anything..."

I create a tablet and hand it over to her. "Take this to a different room and push this button. You'll be able to watch them."

Tenten gives me a quick hug and runs off for some alone time with a bottle of sake and her window to the sealed room.

"I'm making lots of people happy today, aren't I?" I ask nobody in particular.

"UWAAAAAAAH!"

The camera pans over to Ibiki. On his fourth drink of strong rum, the man broke down and started bawling. He spends a good five minutes going on about how hard it is being a torture expert, then falls to the floor while hugging a bottle of rum and quietly passes out.

"Did not see that one coming..." I mutter.

"Will you marry me?" Kiba asks a painting of a landscape.

"Kiba-san...that's an inanimate object," I say.

"Shut up! You'll never stop my love for this beautiful woman!" Kiba cries out as he hugs a lamp, completely ignoring the painting.

"I'm not sure what he is, other than drunk off his ass," I state.

Shino remained completely silent, sitting there like a statue.

"Shino-san... Um, are you okay?" I ask. When I get no response, I tap his shoulder, which makes him tilt over and fall down to the ground, passed out. "What happened?"

A server taps my shoulder. "He asked for a cup of sake and then just sat there. I think he passed out from the scent."

"Surprisingly weak to alcohol, isn't he?" I wonder aloud, then look to the remaining people who aren't completely plastered.

Shizune is arguing with an empty sake bottle, calling it useless because there was nothing in it. She even threatened to tell Tsunade about it not doing its job so it would get fired. After it refused to refill itself, she went and got another bottle for herself, praising it because it was doing its job and giving her sake.

Jiraiya is nowhere to be seen, though I did hear his perverted giggle a little while ago, and the hot springs aren't too far from here. Hmm, now that I look around, I think Neji disappeared around the same time... Curious...

Trust me, you don't want to know what Sai is doing right now. Let's just say that it involves the following: paint, a brush, bare skin. 'Nuff said.

Shikamaru and Choji are imitating their fathers. Well, Shikamaru is the quiet one who listens to Choji tell tales of their missions.

Kurama and Kakashi are reading Icha Icha Paradise and talking about the plot and characters. Wait... he's really reading it! The strongest bijū in the world, aside from the Jūbi, is reading smut while downing alcohol and comparing notes with a confirmed pervert! I am NEVER giving him alcohol again, or letting Kakashi give him a book to read.

Yūgao is...singing? Yeah, she got her hands on a karaoke machine and is singing...

"Alright, things are getting too weird here, even for me. I'm just going to end it here for now. I might pop in again later to do something like this again. Until later!" I shout.

"I've got a harem too!" Kiba barks, holding various inanimate objects.

"Riiiiight..." I mutter, then turn off the camera.

**Responses-**

**To those who are not mentioned:** Sorry for the long wait, and I haven't abandoned this fic. I thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy my writing.

**Sky Zephyrus:** Stop thinking I'm dead. I decided to not show her skill increase because I was serious in KTD, and I wanted to answer Jiraiya's wish to spread that justu around more, so I went with perverted and goofy. You have to admit that tsundere-esque Sakura is great. Ino is the one who shows progress with Naruko.

(Gives a perverted nosebleed covered thumbs up and a nice face) I enjoyed that picture! I've decided that outfit is Naruko's new sleepwear! (Ino approves!)

**one shot no hesitations:** Wha... Lay off...lady? Um, I'm male... Maybe you should hesitate a bit, just so you can make sense...

**Yuri-Hime-chan:** No insanity (other than thinking he's all powerful, like in canon), no genderbending (good idea for an Omake) As for why she doesn't have a new tail, the curse seal is gone, so the experience compiling trick is gone with it. She is now gaining power at the same rate as a normal Kyūbi, but we don't know how fast or slow that is. And she can't gain tons of power if she doesn't know how to use it, right?

**Gaara king of sand:** Like I said in KTD, I'm feeling lonely now that all my favorite authors have abandoned , taking their awesome fics with them. The omake was a peace offering, a way of saying 'sorry for being away for so long.'

**Nethis:** Badass Naruko has been delivered. I wonder why nobody else was happy with a goofy Naruko?

**Bretmccully:** Naruko and Ino's reunion... hehehe. Naruko isn't going to like me much with what I've got planned, or maybe she will. As for what Sai calls Naruko, you'll have to wait and see.

And... what the hell? You want three girls, one who destroyed part of a store, one who razed a park and one who we don't yet know, nor do we want to know, how moody she gets during that time of the month, to sync up while Jiraiya and Orochimaru are around, letting the snake take the brunt of their anger.

Bro, you mad? That's Jūbi level overkill! That image would be enough for Jiraiya to swear off women and become a monk in Kuni no Otoko! (Land of Men)

**Analyn Rockwand:** Which omake? I prefer the Temari one, mainly because she is NOT older sister material. (in fact, she reminds me of my own sister, just that Temari's hot and my sister isn't. And Temari is overall better)

**Muchu:** Punishment? It will happen, just wait for those idiots of the council to show up.

**DarkLordK:** Which omake? They're all funny! (or at least I think so)

**Harlequin320:** Glad you liked the omakes, and I've updated.

**Thedarkpokemaster:** I figure that making Kakashi innocent in a way was good. And making Sakura learn Oiroke was a nice bonus~ And that omake was an alternate world scenario, like a different fanfic writer who couldn't stand NaruSaku had taken over my fic and made it stupid with SasuSaku. As you can see, I made it right and broke microSasuke in the process.

**AsterBlake333:** Keep that trap card face down, here's the new chapter. Glad you liked the omake.

**Karibanu:** You and others will be glad to know that I'm keeping the super yuri harem for a different Kyūbi(?) Naruko fic I came up with soon after posting this chapter. It involves a smart and timid Naruko with all basic nature transformations, Sakura with never before seen ice ninjutsu, Uchiha Sasuke as Uchiha Assuke (aka himself) and a number of girls (and women) wanting some Uzumaki in their lives.

**Wolfone10:** No, they aren't shot to hell. Do remember that the three tails was running rampant without a Jinchūriki and they had no trouble with it. Add to it the Demonic Statue, AKA the Jūbi's body, means that it is easier since they won't have to bother with the normal jutsu and just have the statue swallow her whole.

Do remember that Minato, a _HUMAN_, was pounding on Kurama when he was at full power, meaning both halves of his chakra were present. And Naruto, when at his one tailed state, was even with Sasuke's curse seal state, so there is another example of a human matching a Jinchūriki empowered by their beast. AND Naruto himself, without the power of Kurama, fought off the nine-tails in a struggle for dominance while he resealed it. Naruko's power is seriously limited when compared to Kurama's full strength, and even a civilian can kill a powerful ninja if s/he gets lucky. I decided that humans could kill Naruko with luck. Making her unstoppable most of the time would destroy the story.

This is called BALANCING.

**WolfDragonGod:** Updated.

**Guest:** Don't worry, my Hinata follows canon Hinata, not uber Hinata that most fanfic writers make. I do make characters OOC sometimes, but to do that to Hinata would be breaking everything I like about the ultra shy, fainting Hyūga princess. (though she's been a bit too bold of late...)

And no need to worry, I've abandoned that idea, though adding Anko would have been so HAWT!

**Darkkiller9:** I've actually done research on the subject numerous times, and I don't drink. And here's some more.


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